From Deep 13 With Love
by ghostwriter56
Summary: Mystery Science Theatre 3000. Life has been good for the SOL family until Pearl Forrester returns to wreak havoc on them. Can they beat her with just their wits, talents and riffs and beat back the ghosts of their pasts?
1. Chapter 1

From Deep 13 with Love

Ginger J. Fitts

Prologue

Four years before our story begins...

He stood in front of the wall of glass and gazed out at the flurry of people several floors below walking about from building to building. The young man's body language almost screamed defeat as he shoved his hands into the pockets of the well cut, expensive midnight blue suit. He wriggled a bit with some discomfort. New suits were the worse, and worse still when he was used to wearing jeans, t-shirts, plaid flannel shirts and jumpsuits….

"Hey Mike, you must be a million miles away not to hear that rumpus." The tranquil voice and the kind hand on his shoulder made him turn around to see Joel Robinson, and bring him back to the present, specifically to the large white leather couch across the room that two robots were having far too much fun on for their own good.

"C'mon you guys, knock it off. That's a very expensive couch." Mike scolded a tad too harshly, taking the two bots by surprise. Crow stopped his jumping and sat down, quickly followed by Tom, both looking at the two humans.

"Sheesh, Mike, lighten up!" Crow complained, "Gypsy's got money comin' out her who-ha. She won't care!"

"Besides, she owes us." Tom's all too logical voice chimed in as he leaned against a pile of pillows.

Joel Robinson sighed, rubbing his aching temples lightly.

"Well, I care. This is an office, not a rumpus room. You're not on the Satellite of Love anymore. People see you acting like that will wonder how I programmed you. I work for Gypsy now and I show her the respect she is owed as my employer. You both should show her the respect you owe her as her family. You are her brothers, you know."

"Some sister! She sure put the kibosh on our easy going bachelor lifestyle, right Mike?" Crow complained loudly, but Mike dropped down in one of the plush purple chairs next to a round glass table. "That's it! When she gets here I'm gonna tell her…"

"Tell me what, Crow?" the all too familiar female voice asked innocently as the largest of Joel's creations slithered in through the sliding double doors. Joel had managed to trim down her massive body length, but keep some of it in a retractable unit he designed. Magic Voice was talking as she entered the room.

"Gypsy, there are several meetings this afternoon with…"

"Not today Magic Voice. Clear my schedule. I'm going to be busy working here." The purple and black robot said in a kind, but thoughtful manner. She then turned her attention to Joel Robinson. "Joel, did you bring that report on the data transference filters you're working on?"

The inventor quickly checked all the pockets in his dark purple lab coat and smiled sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders.

"I, kinda left it at home."

The big robot sighed.

"Oh Joel, how many times do I have to tell you to leave your work here and not bring it home? You're working too hard." She glanced over at her brother bots still on the couch. "Why don't you take Tom and Crow down to your lab? I'd like to speak with Mike, alone."

Joel smiled wistfully, glancing over at Mike Nelson who seemed unaware of the conversation. He turned his attention to the white couch and the two bots snuggled into the dozens of pillows.

"Come along, you two. I'll give you both a free tune up while you're here."

The bots reluctantly rose from the soft couch and went to their creator.

"Can we have lunch, I'm starving!" Crow said more in the form of a demand than request as Joel bent down and scooped them up in his arms. He couldn't help but smile.

"Well, it's not quite time for lunch, but I think I have some ram chips stashed away."

"Ah, just like the good old days." Tom Servo reminisced as Joel exited the room.

A heavy silence hung in the air as Gypsy made her way over to where Mike was seated.

"Can I get you anything to drink, Mike?" she asked almost nervously. Mike couldn't help but smile as he shook his head. "The suit looks very nice on you. I hope you didn't mind me buying it for you."

"The suit is very nice. You shouldn't have gone to the trouble. I don't need anything to drink, but thank you, Gypsy. You always were overly concerned about me." Mike tugged absently at the blue paisley print tie.

"And that's what brings us here today." She replied in a whisper. Mike slumped in the chair.

"I, I just don't know what to think of this…Gypsy, you of all people!"

She tipped her big head, lowering herself to be at his level. She knew that her massive size made humans very uncomfortable at times, even Mike Nelson.

"Mike, what I did, I did for you. I just couldn't bear to see you throwing your life away."

He jumped up from the chair and moved around to the back, a spark of fire in his blue eyes. Running a hand through his perfectly cut hair, he looked more like a frazzled businessman than the kidnapped temp of years ago. Trying not to yell, he took a deep breath before his spoke, but his words were still hot.

"Didn't you even stop to think that I might be happy as I was? I had a nice little apartment, a cool fry cook job. Everything was great. Now I'm all over the six o'clock news! The first human ever placed in robot guardianship!"

"How many times have I offered to help you?" She pleaded to deaf ears as Mike's anger was released.

"Remember a couple of years back when you offered me that IPO for ConGypsCo? I turned it down for a reason. I want to be my own man, can't you understand that? It seems someone has always been running my life for me, my parents, girlfriends, Dr. Forrester, Pearl! This is the first time I'm able to be me, can't you understand that?" The fight was leaving his voice as he returned to the chair and sat down. He could never be angry for long at the bots, least of all Gypsy. "I'm sorry, girl. Didn't mean to lash out at you like that. You've always looked out for me in the best way you could."

Gypsy sighed, then slid over to where Mike sat and curled up around him. Mike absently reached up and stoked the black coiling that make up her body.

"Oh Mike, I see so much more than just a happy go lucky fry cook in you! I see a very bright and kind person. Someone who deserves a better life that what's been handed to him. Those years on the Satellite of Love are lost years you can never have back. No one cared about you and Joel. You were never compensated for that lost time and you should have been. That's why when my company started I hired Joel. He's kind and sweet and…"

"And much smarter than I'll ever be. I couldn't even take care of his kids properly. Some step-dad I turned out to be. I'm surprised Tom, Crow and Cambot stuck with me." Mike's voice was full of self-pity. Gypsy let out a strangled laugh.

"Well, at least you learned you can't fix electronics with bacon!"

"I'm just a big stupid dumb guy, I guess."

Gypsy tighten her coils around Mike to let him feel the sincerity of her emotions in the best way she knew how.

"Don't you ever say anything like that, my son. Yes, you are now my ward and that makes me your mom."

"I'm an adult. I'm over 21. What gives some judge the right to take my life from me?" Mike argued to the bot.

"What can I say? I have great lawyers." Gypsy replied brightly.

"But my parents are still alive. What are they going to think of this?'

"They're thrilled. In fact they signed the papers allowing me to have custody of you."

"What?" Mike's shock pulled him out of the warm haze he was in. His mind suddenly flashed back to those early days on the SOL. Whenever he felt scared or alone, Gypsy always seemed to know and would wrap herself around him to comfort him. He couldn't win, there was no beating Gypsy once she set her mind to something.

"Ok, Gyps, you win. I'm all yours. So what do you want me to do?" Mike conceded with a wry smile as the bot loosened her hold on him.

"Well, first thing we need to do is find you a career and get you enrolled in college." She said happily as she glided over to her desk and picked up a book with her mouth. Bringing it to Mike, she dumped it in his lap. "The University of Minnesota isn't far from here and has an excellent academic program."

Mike thumbed through the book as she looked over his shoulder.

"Ooooh! You could be a research scientist!"

Mike shot her a very painful look.

"I think I've had my fill of scientists, thank you just the same." He flipped through the book until he saw something that caught his interest. Gypsy leaned down over his shoulder.

"You're not going to laugh at me, are you Gyps?" Mike's voice tightened with a flutter of embarrassment and he held the catalog up to her.

"Library Sciences…oh Mike, that sounds wonderful!" she replied with delight, "It is a noble profession to be sure, in fact I have plans for a research library here and by the time you finish your degree there will be a job here for you!"

Mike frowned at the suggestion.

"Now Gypsy, I don't want a handout job. I want to earn it, on my own and if I'm qualified and there's a job open here…well, I'll consider it."

"You can't blame me for trying. I love you very much, Mike and you're going to love living at my house. You, Tom, Crow, Cambot, Magic Voice, me, and Joel. We'll be one big happy family again!"

Mike stared at the bot with disbelief.

"Aww, c'mon Gyps, have a heart! I like my apartment! It's all I have left of my freedom!"

The bot just shook her purple head.

"No Mike. It's too far away from the campus. I want you to spend all of your time studying. I know how Crow and Tom can distract you from a job. You don't have a reliable car either. You're not going to miss classes because you don't have a ride. I'm going to make sure you have proper, regular meals, a strict lights out policy..."

"Gypsy! This is college not Boot Camp!"

The bot snuggled her head against his chest.

"I love you, Mike. I only want the best for you and Joel."

Mile let out a weak growl. "I bet you don't treat Joel like this."

Gypsy's eye light became brighter.

"Wanna bet? I run a tight ship, just like Admiral Nelson on the Seaview!" she said proudly.

Mike shook his head, but with a smile on his face.

"I know when I'm licked, but it's a nice way to go."

"There's so much to do! Registration, meeting a faculty advisor, shopping for new school clothes, a lunchbox, pencils…" Gypsy happily ran down her to do list.

"Maybe first we should let Joel and the bots know. I hope he won't mind the four of us crashing in like this."

"Mind? Mike, it was Joel's suggestion that the four of you move in with us. I wish I had thought of it," Gypsy sighed as she uncoiled herself from Mike and the chair. "It's such a big house and I get lonely and so does Joel. It won't be just a house anymore, but a home, a real home."

Chapter 1

Pearl Forrester sat at a massive mahogany desk and drummed her well-manicured nails impatiently until the two equally massive doors opened to admit Brain Guy and Professor Bobo.

"And where have you two boron brains been? I've been waiting for those daily profit reports for a whole two minutes!"

Pearl's voice filled the large office as the gorilla handed a folder to her.

"I'm sorry, Lawgiver, but we've been busy with…" Bobo's voice trembled as he knew what was to come next. The stout woman jumped up and hit him with the report.

"I don't ask for excuses, I demand results!" She stomped across the room and stood under the ornate crystal chandelier handing in the center of the room. "Today I closed on the purchase of the old Gizmonic Institute."

Bobo and Brain Guy were taken aback by this sudden announcement.

"Pearl, why you want to purchase a run down, out dated, company that's been out of business for years when you own twelve casinos that bring in far more money that you can spend in a lifetime is beyond me." His reply made her shake her head and motion for them to sit down as she returned to her desk and sat behind it.

"Boys, it's been six years since we lost control of the one thing that gave my beloved Clayton joy in this world. Far too long he put up with the disrespect of that puppy faced Joel Robinson," She pulled a color 8 by 10 from a folder on her desk and tossed it over to him. "You never knew Joel; simpleton on the surface but cleaver, oh he's cleaver! Then there's our old friend Mike Nelson; such an innocent, dumb puppet, but when called for, a will of iron." She tossed another picture to the pair.

The two flunkies just looked at the pictures and shook their heads in dismay.

"Pearl, it's been years now. Can't we just let bygones be bygones and everyone live, oh as your storybooks say, happily ever after?" Brain Guy implored calmly as he carefully put his brain pan on the desk.

"Yes Lawgiver, why not? In fact, let's invite them over for tea next week."

Pearl raised her right eyebrow, her red lipstick smeared across her face in a maniacal grimace.

"Oh," she began in a deliberately soft voice, "oh, we will give them something alright. The gift of pain and suffering. First Larry vanished, though I didn't know him, then Frank is gone, dear, sweet Frank!"

"From what information I could find out that was Dr. Forrester's own fault. If he had been kinder to poor TV's Frank…" Brain Guy tried to explain, but stopped as Pearl shot him a cold look before she took up her story again.

"Then that terrible, terrible day when that lab rat Robinson escaped…."

"Again, Pearl, that was Frank's fault. He gave the control keys to Mike and…oh forget it."

"Mike Nelson destroyed my poor son's work. All that data, worthless!"

"But don't you think that by Mike having to replace Joel though his own actions he paid for his mistake?" Bobo asked philosophically. Brain Guy nodded in agreement.

"Very well put indeed, Professor Bobo!"

"Whose side are you two on? Are you going to walk out on me like everyone else?" Pearl cried, burying her head in her arms on the desk. The two flunkies rushed to her side to comfort her.

"Lawgiver, forgive me! I would never leave you!"

"Haven't we stayed with you this long?"

Pearl looked up at them and smiled. She knew what suckers they were for her crocodile tears. Sitting up, she leaned back in the deeply padded leather chair and wiped the remaining tears from her eyes.

"Boys, I made a promise to my dear son that I would carry on his work. I think it's time I let you in on the grand plan." She shooed them back to their seats and pushed a button on a console on the desk that lowered a screen from the ceiling.

"Oh boy, a movie! It's been such a long time, Lawgiver!" Bobo crowed with delight. Brain Guy and Pearl just shook their heads as the lights in the office dimmed and a picture of Gizmonic Institute came up.

"With the purchase of the institute I can proceed with my boldest plan ever. I call it Plan Deep 13," She clicked a hand held remote that showed a series of photos of the sub-basement lab.

"My plan is nothing short of brilliant. With power from the nuclear reactor and a touch of black magic I plan to resurrect my beloved Clayton from the dead, and you two will be there to help and witness this moment."

Brain Guy and Bobo gasped at this announcement.

"Oh, dear, oh dear, oh dear...how does one put this gently? Ah yes, you're crazier than a sack of nuts!" Bobo blurted out. Pearl grumbled under her breath, then continued.

"I was afraid of this. You two just don't have what it takes to see this through."

Brain Guy took great offence to this and stood up.

"Madam, I am from a far superior race than your own. Even we Observers know better than to tamper with the powers of life and death!"

Pearl rose to her feet and leaned over the desk, grabbing both beings and shaking them furiously and with a darkness in her voice that neither of them had heard before.

"Come with me."

She released them both and went to the doors of a private elevator. Brain Guy picked up his pan and he and the ape reluctantly followed her.

The three of them entered and Pearl pushed the one red button on the panel. No one spoke as the elevator made it's decent. Brain Guy and Bobo looked at each other, knowing this was going deeper than the casino was built for. When the elevator stopped, the doors opened with a smooth electric swoosh and the three of them stepped out. The gorilla and alien were awestruck.

They stood in a large room about the size of the office they had just left. The room looked like a cathedral. Tall stone columns lined the aisle that led to a massive marble tomb of green marble with FORRESTER in gold letters on the side of it.

Pearl went forward and put a hand on the cold green stone, then turned to her companions.

"This is where I keep my dear Clayton. When I had this casino built, I wanted a special place that I could come to and be near him." She said in a soft voice, seldom heard by the pair.

The two henchmen slowly backed their way to the elevator. When they turned to get in, the door slid shut. They looked to Pearl who held a small remote in her hands. Smiling, she motioned for them to approach her.

"Here's the plan. We remove my dear son from here and bring him to Deep 13. Everything is there just waiting. It's simple as pie!"

Bobo whimpered

Brain Guy moaned.

"Buck up, you two. Look, he's in a casket inside of this thing. You won't have to touch him, Brain Guy can move him with his brain power stuff." Pearl's simple explanation was cut off by Brain Guy.

"Pearl, leave him be. Let the poor man rest in peace. No one knows what damage there could be. He could come back a monster, not the son you tragically lost."

Bobo tapped him on the shoulder to interject.

"Well, actually the Lawgiver smothered him with a pillow."

Brain Guy looked at the ape with astonishment. He turned to Pearl with utter shock.

"You killed your own son? Then you blamed another for it? You hunted down that poor innocent fool Mike Nelson as if he were a criminal when in fact he was no more to blame than I?"

Pearl merely shrugged with chagrin.

"Clayton would have wanted it that way."

Observer sat down in the wooden pew next to him, his brain pan slightly trembling from his anger and fear.

"Pearl, what do you expect to get out of this?"

"Only this." She smiled as she pushed another button. The heavy black velvet drape behind the crypt parted and a giant back lit stain glass picture lit up in glorious color. Both Bobo and Brain Guy were taken aback by the scene in light.

It portrayed Pearl holding the world in one hand and the other on Dr. Forrester's shoulder while in his hands were two lengths of chains that held the kneeling and beaten Joel Robinson and Mike Nelson.

"A masterpiece!" Brain Guy said, enraptured by the piece.

"Magnificent! What a stupendous piece of art!" Professor Bobo exclaimed.

Pearl walked over and put her hands on their shoulders and smiled.

"It's not just art; it's prophesy. Mike Nelson and his buddy Joel will kneel before my son when I give them to him. A birthday present for a new birth. So, are we good?

"How can one say no to a plan, this, this glorious!" Brain Guy said, sweeping away any thought of moral dubiousness.

"Well, you know me, Lawgiver. I'm in for the duration." Bobo hooted.

"Then let it begin." Pearl said darkly.

Under the cover of darkness, the trio entered Gizmonic Institute. The building was deserted, the company had closed the year before and was scooped up by Pearl Forrester for a fraction of what the property was worth. She had made the city vague promises of some charitable use of the place, promises she had no plans on keeping.

Down in Deep 13, everything was proceeding as scheduled.

Brain Guy and Bobo peeked at the body under the grey shroud that was now lying on a lab table.

"Heavens! What a mess! There is no known force in any universe I am acquainted with that can animate that!"

"Heaven has nothing to do with this," Pearl snapped as she whipped the shroud from the body. "Tonight we begin again. My one regret is that poor Frank isn't here to share in our moment of triumph."

"Strange you should mention that, Lawgiver, but I thought I saw a freezer unit in the next room marked Frank. I thought there were hotdog in it." Bobo shrugged.

"What?" Pearl asked hurrying to the back room where she found the freezer. She opened it to find a perfectly cloned body of TV's Frank. "Oh Clayton, you must have seen the future! Bobo, get in here, we got another stiff to re-animate!"

In the main lab, the ape shook his head.

"You're the one who had to open your big mouth." Brain Guy smiled, patting him on the shoulder.

It didn't take long to find a place for the frozen Frank. Brain Guy and Bobo pushed the gurney next to the rotted Forrester.

"What's next, or dare I ask?" Brain guy ventured, only to have Pearl toss a heavy black robe at him and Bobo.

Pearl pulled on a pair of surgical gloves and began to attach wires to Clayton's head. The wires lead back to a large black box that had a cable running out the back.

"This relay is plugged into the heart of the reactor. It doesn't take much money to buy off those nuclear hounds," she explained as she continued her work. "The power from the reactor core should jumpstart the body."

Brain guy shook his head.

"But what is going to bring him back to life? There is only so much science can do."

"That's the other half of the plan, pasty face. That old black magic," Pearl smiled with delight as she finished her work on the corpse and turned to a box on a nearby cart. "Let's just say I made a deal with the Devil. You know, that fellow Pitch."

"Did you call, dear lady?" the imp suddenly appeared in the lab, startling both the henchmen.

Pearl smiled at the red devil.

"No, I'm sorry Pitch, I didn't mean to bother you, I was just explaining to my crew here about you."

"Well, I'll explain then. You see fellows, Dr. Forrester is with us now in the Mad Scientist Sector of Hell. We like to keep those fellows busy and reward them for all their hard work making Earth a worse place to live. I was doing my rounds there and in passing the good doctor mentioned his mother and after a bit of research I found she was the perfect candidate for our Evil Spell Caster Program, formally known as Wicked Witch University. We like to stay current with the times, you see."

Pearl pushed Pitch aside, cutting off his narrative.

"So, to make a long story short, I sold him my soul, well actually it's on trial for the program. If I flunk I get my soul back but I don't intend on failing. After all, I've killed thirteen husbands and a son, what have I got too loose at this point?"

"Precisely my argument. All you have to do to gain the full powers of Darkness is to take care of those obnoxious do-gooders Nelson and Robinson. The bosses are very keen to see justice done and the score settled once and for all. Beat them, drug then, torture them, we don't care as long as they are under your control and are not lose to spread their Satellite of Love nonsense to the world. They brought too much joy to the world and must be punished!" Pitch finished, pounding his fist in his empty palm.

"Pitch gave me this beginner's book of spells that has a recipe for bringing the dead back to life. Unfortunately it was for freshly dead, but I figured with the nuclear power along with the spell we can bring Clayton back and now Frank too. Brain Guy, hook Frank up with that other set of wires. I always plan for a backup."

On the cart next to the box was a book bound in ancient leather and filled with yellowed pages of vellum. Humming a little tune, Pearl flipped through until she found what she was looking for.

"I've already mixed the ingredients except for the last one, which must be done right before administered."

"Do we dare ask what that ingredient is?" Bobo trembled as Brain Guy finished his task.

"Nothing terrible. Just the blood of his enemies."

"What?!" the flunkies cried out in unions.

Pearl smiled, putting up a hand to calm the two.

"Clayton was very thorough in his experiments. Before he shot both Nelson and Robinson into space he was sure to take ample blood samples, although they've kind of turned to dehydrated blood samples, but they'll work fine. The essence of their life is there and that is what is needed. Stealing the life force of your enemy is part of a balanced breakfast, I always say."

"See, that's the kind of determination we like in our students!" Pitch smiled as he looked to Bobo and Brain Guy. "Say, you fellows wouldn't want to sign up for advanced programs in Henchmanship?"

The pair shook their heads.

"Ah, pity. My quota is a bit short this month, but Pearl, if you should need me, you know how to reach me." Pitch smiled as he disappeared in a puff of sulfur smoke.

"Love a man who can make a showy exit." Pearl sighed as she took the two vials of dried blood and mixed them in the test beaker. The liquid thickened and turned dark red.

"Brain Guy, get ready to throw the switch when I say so. Bobo, help me with this."

There was just enough of the liquid to drop a spoonful into Clayton and Frank. She stepped away from the bodies and ordered Brain Guy to throw the switch which he did.

The two bodies lit up as purple flames danced and spun over them.

"Look, it's working...it's working!" Pearl cried out in girlish delight as the rotted corpse of Clayton Forrester began to re-build itself. In a matter of minutes, the body was whole again.

"Shut it down!" Pearl ordered as she rushed towards the body. She took his hands in hers.

"Clayton? Darling? It's your Mommy, sweetie."

"M, M. Mother?" Clayton's voice was not more than a whisper as he slowly opened his eyes.

"Oh, my sweet, sweet boy is back from the dead!"

"Glad that's over. Being dead is such a drag." Clayton said finding his voice and sitting up.

"Joey the lemur, a friend to mankind..."

"Frank?!" Dr. Forrester jumped down from the table and helped a very groggy Frank sit up. Frank smiled a very loopy smile.

"Oh, hey Dr. F., good to see you again. Hey, I'm not dead anymore. It's nice to be back, that whole death thing wasn't what it was cracked up to be."

"I know Frank, I know!" Dr. Forrester embraced his assistant. Pearl joined them in a heartfelt embrace. He turned to Pearl with a sudden frown. "Mother, dear I wish someone had let me know you were planning on this. I was in the middle of a fine experiment when whoosh, here I am!"

"Clayton, Hell can wait, I can't. We have unfinished work to do, then you can go to Hell for all I care." Pearl grumbled impatiently, then changed her tone, "But once you hear what I have planned, you'll be glad you're alive again."

"We're just one big happy family!" Bobo chimed in, which broke the embrace and set everyone staring at each other.

"Let's go back to my office and I'll explain everything." Pearl pointed to Brain Guy who with a mighty effort transported all five of them with one trip.

"...so, let me get this straight. After you suffocated me, you had yourself frozen and was reanimated in the year 2525 where the satellite also appeared with Nelson and his toys. He then blew up this future earth. Then you went to this Brain planet where once again Nelson destroyed that planet, and then another one?" Clayton Forrest shook his head in disbelief, "Mother, are you sure he's not one of us? I mean anyone who can destroy three planets can't be all good.'

Frank looked up from the dinner they all had just had and dabbed a napkin to his lips.

"It's just beginners luck, Clay."

Dr. Forrester leaned back in his chair, his nose a bit out of joint at this news.

"I never destroyed an entire planet, why does Mike Nelson get to be so lucky?"

"Enough with the blowing up planets, Clayton!" Pearl scolded. "The point of the story is, we finally made it back to earth, back to Castle Forrester, but through a terrible mishap we lost control of the ship and it crash landed on earth."

"Really?" Dr. Forrester leaned forward with interest, "So, Mike Nelson is dead then?"

Pearl smiled, gritting her teeth.

"Not exactly. Somehow he survived the crash landing and he and those stupid robots went on with their lives."

"Yes, Gypsy owns ConGypsCo, a new research company where Joel Robinson works as an inventor." Bobo explained in his usual cheerful way.

Dr. Forrester jumped from his chair, throwing his napkin down on the table.

"What?! That droopy eyed, half-wit? He couldn't put two Lincoln Logs together without screwing it up!"

Frank leaned over to Pearl and muttered.

"I think someone's jealous." Dr. Forrester turned on him.

"I heard that, Frank. Do you really want to die again so soon?" He sat down again, crossing his arms. "Well, Mike Nelson must be a colossal failure. That overgrown man-child couldn't screw in a light bulb correctly."

Bobo cleared his throat.

"Well, Dr. Forrester, today Mike Nelson received his Bachelor of Arts in Library Sciences from the University of Minnesota. Graduated in the top ten percent of his class and will be working at the new research library at ConGypsCo."

"Oh great!" Dr. Forrester fumed. "That's all I need! Next thing you know he'll be getting a PhD!"

"Dr. Nelson, has a nice ring to it." Frank mused as a plate went whizzing by his head.

"Frank, I love you like a brother, but don't push it." Dr. Forrester warned. "Well, at least you're doing well, Mother. Ten casinos? Maybe Frank and I can get jobs as bartenders." Clayton sulked.

"Clayton Deborah Susan Forrester, I don't ever want to hear that defeatist talk from you ever again!" Pearl warned getting up from the table and going over to her desk. "I tried to follow in your footsteps, but I'm not half the scientist you are." She then walked over to the large windows and looked out into the night sky with its brilliant display of stars. The others got up and followed her.

"We're going back to space, Clayton. Your work is far from finished. As we speak I'm having another satellite built. When it's ready we will launch it and this time both Joel Robinson and Mike Nelson are going for a one way ride with their tinker toy buddies. You will break them, and we will rule the world!" Pearl smiled. "They are all living together in an old Victorian house the big purple one had remodeled. The ship won't be ready for a while yet, so while we are waiting, I think it would be good practice for you and Frank to, oh how shall I put it, spread a little harm their way?

Dr. Forrester's eyes welled up with tears of joy and he hugged his mother tightly.

"You're the best mother a mad scientist could ever have!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Mike dropped down on the large dark gray sectional couch in the living room of Gypsy's home. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and let out a weary sigh.

"You said it, pal." Joel moaned as he dropped down next to Mike.

"I knew college would be tough, but the graduation was brutal." Mike moaned, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Whoopee!"

Crow and Servo came flying out of nowhere and landed in the human's laps which made both moan with pain and weariness.

"Best party ever! Boy, those Nelsons sure are fun!" Crow laughed in Mike's face.

"Oh, oh, Crow, remember Grandpa Nelson getting locked in the bathroom? He thought he was in the car? Priceless!" Tom leaned over from his perch on Joel's lap with no concern about the discomfort he was causing. Mike and Joel picked up their respective bots and placed them on either side of them.

"Hey Servo, the funniest thing was when Mike's little Cousin Katie said she wanted to marry the monkey in the zoo!"

"Yeah, yeah, then Mike fainted and fell into the pool! That was awesome!"

Joel gave Servo a very stern look.

"Tom, Mike could have drowned!"

"Well, his family is destined to be the cause of the Chimpocolyps. We saw it first-hand." Servo defended his words proudly.

Mike shrugged.

"Maybe that was an alternate universe, who's to say. All I know is if I have to, I'm going to neuter every friggin' monkey in the world," Mike's voice took on a despondent tone. "They didn't believe anything I told them about being in space. Dad tells people I was kidnapped by some hippy cult and was forced to do drugs. Mom just smiles like she always does. No one believes me. What about your family Joel? Did you tell them?"

Joel hung his head, then looked up at the crystal light fixture hanging from the ceiling.

"My Dad traveled a lot in his job and my Mom would go with him when she could. I spent much of my childhood with Grandma Robinson. When school was in, she would come and stay at my house, but when summer came, man that was the best time! I spent practically all summer at her home. It was warm and always smelled like sugar cookies," Joel stopped for a moment, biting his lower lip as the memories came back to him. "I didn't fit in with the kids in her town, so I passed the time by building things, tinkering. I've always been a quiet, shy guy, but when I created the bots, they made me happy, they became my family and since then I've never felt like I was alone. Even when I made it back to earth, I knew they were still up there and that someday I'd see them again."

The two bots were stunned by the revelation as Gypsy slid in and curled up on the far side of the couch.

"Gyps, did you that Joel..." Crow said excitedly.

"Of course I know. Joel told me ages ago when we were on the ship."

Crow crawled over Mike and pulled himself up to tower over his creator while Tom Servo hovered at the same height.

"How could you tell her and not us?" Crow demanded.

"Yeah, I thought we were buds." Tom added his own indignation. Joel grabbed the pair and pulled them gently down to sit in his lap. He put his arms around them, holding them close to him.

"People won't always tell you everything about them. People keep secrets."

"Not Mike! We know more about him that anyone really needs to know." Crow blurted out which raised a growl from him. Joel shook his head.

"Now look you two, I'm trying to teach you something, so pay attention. I'm what people on earth call an introvert."

"Ah, Introvert: a noun meaning a shy person. Or Psychology a person characterized by concern primarily with his or her own thoughts and feelings." Servo said in his announcer's voice.

"To continue what I was saying; a lot of times people don't understand how you feel because sometimes people like me, we keep our feelings to ourselves, where someone like Mike is much more open and able to talk about how he feels."

"Even if no one is listening." Crow snickered which resulted a cuff to the back of his head from Mike.

"What I'm trying to tell you two is that there is no right or wrong in how you feel, just different."

The two bots fell silent for a moment.

"So, what was your favorite gift, Mike? Who gave you the bestest present ever?" the lanky gold robot rolled his yellow eyes in the human's direction. The smaller bot pushed his protruding red chest in Crow's face.

"Uh, uh Goldilocks, my present was the best."

Mike quickly put his hands up to call for peace before the two bots started one of their famous rows.

"All the gifts were great. Crow, I love the paperweight and the fact that you made it yourself." Mike reached over to the large round table that was weighed down with gifts, many still wrapped. He picked up clump of badly welded metal parts.

"Some of my old parts are in there. Joel helped me with the welding."

"And Tom, this was also very nice. A bracelet with the Dewey Decimal System engraved on it." Mike reached over and picked up the box that held a clunky charm bracelet.

"I recalled how much trouble you were having with that class. Nothing wrong with a little cheat now that you've graduated."

"So," Crow demanded, "What was your most favorite gift of all?"

"Well, that tricked out SUV Gypsy bought me is pretty sweet, but the best gift is having you all in my life. The five of us, Cambot and Magic Voice too, we've shared something so special, something no one else will probably ever have the chance to."

"It sounds like you're almost glad you got abducted and shot into space." Gypsy said thoughtfully. Mike took a deep breath.

"Oh crap, he's gonna start crying again." Crow mused, shaking his head.

Mike felt a lump rising in his throat. Joel reached across and put a hand on Mike's shoulder.

"When you came to fix the Satellite of Love, Joel..."

"Best years of my life? These have been too. You guys have really livened this place up."

"Oh, that's what we're calling it." Gypsy sighed.

"First time in a long time I feel like I have a real family. I kinda feel like a dad to you three misfits of space. We have that time up there that no one can ever take away from us. Even through the worst of it we all have that common thread that binds us as a family."

"Yes, we are all paid in full lifetime members of the We Hate Dr. Forrester Club." Tom announced.

"No." Joel gently scolded, "The common thread is love, not hate, Tommy."

"Oh geeze, thar she blows!" Crow grumbled as he leaned forward to find the box of tissues on the table and drop it in Mike's lap. Grabbing a handful, Mike blew his nose.

"Sorry, don't mean to be such a ..."

"Puss."

"Wimp."

"Cry baby."

"Girl."

The two bots rattled off a few more insults until Mike and Joel both clamped firm hands down on the mouths of the offending units.

"Are you going to behave?" Joel asked more in a warning tone than a question. He and Mike let go only to get the end of the barrage.

"Cream puff."

"Mama's boy."

"I'm just so proud of you, Mike. How you applied yourself to your studies the way you did. I told you there was something special about you." Gypsy said in a calm, happy tone.

"That invention of Joel's is what did the trick. The Student Prod. Get that lazy kid off his keister and make them study with good old fashioned electric shock." Tom said.

"Yeah, we sure made a ton of moolah off that one! Best invention yet, Joel." Crow affirmed. Mike winced at the memory.

"I'm all for the advancement of science, but you guys took the test study a bit too far."

"It was effective," Joel recalled, "We saw a full letter grade improvement in your test scores with the Student Prod."

"Maybe I should write a book, My Life as a Guinea Pig." Mike half joked, while he stifled a yawn.

The room fell into silence before Crow pulled away and announced that he wanted more cake.

"No more cake for you, you're both too revved up tonight. Maybe we should all turn in early tonight." Mike yawned with a stretch of his arms. The two bots were quickly in his face.

"It's Saturday night!"

"Its Family Movie Night and you know what that means!"

"Tom, Crow...not tonight, I'm dead on my feet and I'm sure Joel is too."

Joel smiled and nodded.

"Awwwww, c'mon guys, we've hardly missed a Family Movie Night since we moved in here. It's so much fun!" Tom pleaded, hopping up and down on the cushion next to Mike.

"I found a deliciously awful film, Devil Bats vs The Moon Roaches. It's sure to make at least one of you pass out or cry!" Crow promised. Mike and Joel looked at each other and knew they were beat. They knew there would be no peace in the house for days unless they took part in the family ritual. Both slowly got to their feet and headed up the grand staircase.

"Ah, guilt. It's a wonderful trait humans have." Servo said with self-satisfaction.

"And so easy to exploit! Wish we could package it." Crow said happily as he and Servo turned their attention to the staircase. A few minutes later Joel and Mike came down the stair now wearing their old jumpsuits from their time on the Satellite of Love.

"Gives you chills, doesn't it Servo?" Crow asked.

"Sure does, buddy."

At the bottom of the stairs, Joel pushed a recessed panel on the wall to reveal a set of buttons.

"Well, since you're the star of the day Mike, you can have the honors."

"Thanks, Joel."

Mike pushed a red button that shut the lights off throughout the downstairs. Gypsy sighed.

"Here we go again!"

A bank of lights dropped from the ceiling and flashed as the two humans yelled at the top of their lungs,

"WE GOT MOVIE SIGN!"

They rushed over to the couch and watched the extra large screen come down from the ceiling. Tom and Crow snuggled next to the guys as the movie began.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The antique grandfather clock in the upstairs hallway marked the midnight hour with deep, subtle tone. Everyone was asleep in the renovated Victorian mansion. Gypsy was curled up on her round bed in her purple room surrounded with pictures of Richard Basehart. Joel was down the hall, his bed cluttered with gadgets and diagrams of projects to come. Mike was at the other end of the second floor, in the turret room with its own spiral staircase. His room was strewn with confetti and balloons from the waffle graduation breakfast party Crow and Servo had held there Saturday morning. Crow and Servo had separate rooms but shared an adjacent bathroom that was used more for coming and going and the door slamming festival which annoyed the human occupants of the house more than the robotic ones.

The evening was warm and the golden robot left his windows open as a gentle breeze blew in. Crow was fast asleep, unaware of the ladder that tapped against the outside of the window or the figure in white slowly crawling through the window only to tumble onto the floor. The intruder stepped toward the sleeping bots bed, only to trip over a stray roller skate and go flying in the air and land on the hardwood floor. Crow opened his visor half way to see the visitor stand up and straighten out his flowing white robes.

"What?" Crow asked softly as the figure approached.

"Do...not be...afraid...little...one for you...have...seen...me before." The man in white stammered.

Crow leaned forward and his visor shot wide open.

"Torgo the White! You took Frank to Second Banana Heaven! Yeah, I remember you! What are you doing here, it's the middle of the night?"

Torgo leaned on his silver staff, his white beard glistening in the moonlight.

"I have come to...give a...warning."

Crow grew impatient with the stammering of the ethereal visitor.

"Yeah, yeah, look can we speed this up, I'm sleepy." Crow laid his head back down on the fluffy pillow.

"You...must...listen...little one. Your humans...they are...in...grave danger."

"Story of their lives." Crow muttered now half asleep again. Torgo bent down and tapped Crow on the head with his staff.

"Warn then...you must...protect them...you must." Torgo urged. Crow looked up at Torgo.

"Hey Yoda, want to leave a message for Joel and Mike? Go through the bathroom and talk to Servo." The groggy robot muttered as he fell fast asleep.

"Whatever." Torgo muttered as he made his way back to the window and out of the room.

The next day Crow would vaguely remember the visit and not mention it to anyone, only that he owed some weird dreams to too much cake the night before.

"Clayton, how much longer will you be?" Pearl hollered impatiently as she checked her reflection in the full length mirror. She had chosen a very conservative green suit with matching shoes and bag and her trademark pearl necklace.

"Almost finished, Mother dear!" Clayton's strained tenor voice called out from across the penthouse she lived in. Walking into the expansive living room from her bedroom she grumbled under her breath to see Bobo and Brain Guy watching a baseball game on the large flat screen TV. Deciding it wasn't worth getting into a huff at this time, she crossed the room without them seeing her and down a long hallway that ended with a steel door painted green. She knocked and Frank's friendly face greeted her.

"Oh, hey Pearl, c'mon in!"

"Thank you for inviting me into my own lab, Frank," she smiled as she went over to the bench where her son was busy at work.

"Clayton, those bugs I had planted in the house are working great."

"That's nice Mother." Dr. Forrester said absently as he poured a dark purple liquid into a smaller beaker.

"It seems the robots and Robinson are going out this evening and Nelson is staying home alone to write out thank you cards for all the lovely gifts he received for graduation."

"That's nice, Mother." He replied again in the same self-absorbed tone. Not one to be ignored, Pearl picked up an empty beaker and smashed it on the black granite table top.

"Clayton, this is your Mother speaking!"

Dr. Forrester nearly dropped the beaker in his hands.

"Yes Mother, you told me this two hours ago. That is why I'm trying to finish this." His voice was strained as he took a dropper and carefully filled what looked like a pen refill with the purple liquid.

"I think Operation Freak the Geeks is going to be a huge success." Frank chimed in.

"Frank, the box." Dr. Forrester ordered. Frank handed him a white box that he opened to reveal a very fine writing pen. As he took the pen apart he explained his plan.

"This is too simple, which is why it will work on numb-nuts Nelson. All he has to do is click the top of the push button and that released the needle with the drug in the barrel." He finished putting the pen back together and in the box. He handed the box to Frank who went to work wrapping it.

Pearl went to him and gave him a hug.

"Why don't you come with me to watch the fun? Drug reactions are so enjoyable when it's someone you despise."

"No, mother this one is yours. I've got a rather nasty plan in mind for Joel Robinson. Now, you'd better hurry along and may I say you look lovely this evening?" He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and she left the lab. Forrester dropped down onto a lab stool.

"Whoa, Mother is very demanding. When she wants a specific drug made up..."

"I know Clay, I know...say, why don't we catch the rest of the game with Bobo and Brain Guy?"

"Awwww, c'mon Mike! Come with us! Fireworks are awesome!" Crow badgered. Mike was seated at a large antique office desk in the den. He tried his best to hide his lack of patience with the chatty golden robot.

"Crow, I want to get these thank-you notes out in the mail tomorrow. There will be other firework displays, besides I'm bone tired from cleaning the house."

A red blur whizzed past the door and appeared on the desktop, scattering the pile of note cards.

"Servo!" Mike got up from his chair and knelt down on the floor and gathered up the notes while the two robots badgered him.

"You can buy us ice cream!" Servo said hopefully.

"Ooooh, maybe they'll have cotton candy!" Crow chimed in.

"And maybe you two you should get in the car and leave Mike alone?" Joel asked in a smooth tone. The pair of bots quickly left the room. Joel bent down to help Mike with his task.

"They mean well, they're just excited." Joel offered as an apology and he and Mike got up and put the cards on the table. Mike rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. Joel knew Mike's patience could run thin when it came to the bots and their childish behavior.

"I know. They get on my nerves too. That's why I'm glad there are two of us to take them on." The two men stood and put the cards back on the desk. "I wish you wouldn't let yourself feel like a fifth wheel around here. I'm sorry if I make you feel that way. Fact is I'm glad you're here. The past four years have been a blast."

Mike looked at his friend with puzzlement.

"How do you always seem to know what I'm feeling?"

"You're very easy to read, Mike." Joel said with a sly smile, stopping in the doorway to add, "Besides, Tom and Crow tell me everything they hear. They've got your room bugged and listen to you talk in your sleep. Don't tell them I told you."

Joel headed out of the house with a chuckle while Mike sat down at the desk.

"Those little..." He grumbled as he set himself back to his work.

It was an hour later when he heard the front doorbell ring. Looking at his watch it was already past nine.

"Wonder who it could be at this hour?" he muttered under his breath as he went to open the door.

"Hello Mike, so nice to see you."

"Pearl?!" Mike's voice seemed to be caught in a vice at the sight of the woman who tormented him his last three years in space. The porch light cast an eerie glow on her that added to his trepidation.

Pearl delighted in his shock, but put a hand on the loud Hawaiian print shirt he wore.

"Breath Nelson, I'm not here to harm you. May I come in?"

"Uh, yeah, sure, please!" Mike stammered as Pearl entered. He stuck his hands in his jean pockets, at a total loss as to what to say. Pearl couldn't help but enjoy the discomfort she caused him.

Suddenly, Cambot dropped down to Mike's eye level from his tether. He bounced up and down, buzzing at the young man.

"Cambot, it's ok. Don't panic. Now go back to your roost. Everything is fine." Mike assured the little bot. Cambot obeyed, but kept his lens targeted on Pearl.

"Let's sit down, shall we? I can't stay long. I'm on my way to a cocktail party, but I did want to stop by and congratulate you on your degree!" She locked an arm with him and maneuvered him into the living room.

"Thank you, Pearl. That's very kind of you." He managed to say as he sat down on the edge of the couch. Pearl gracefully sat in a chair near to him. Mike absently wiped his brow with the tails of his shirt, small beads of perspiration showing on the gray t-shirt he wore under the open shirt.

Smiling weakly, Mike shrugged his shoulders and fumbled with his hands as he spoke.

"How are Bobo and Brain Guy?"

"Oh, fine. They're still with me. Such a comfort to me since I lost my dear Clayton."

"Uh, I'm glad to hear about your casinos. It's nice you're doing so well."

"The whole dictator thing just didn't work so I grabbed all the cash I could and look at me now!" Pearl smiled as Mike shot her a worried look. Reaching over, she took his hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. She wanted to laugh at how frightened he was, but knew better than to tip her hand. Rising from the chair, she fished about in her large handbag.

"I know it's not much, but I wanted to give you a gift. You know, let bygones and all that...ah, here it is!"

She held out the brightly wrapped box and handed to Mike.

"Awwwww Pearl, you shouldn't have!"

"Please, open it!" she urged. Mike ripped the wrapping and tossed it on the floor and opened the box. A black mahogany pen lay in a deep red silk lining. There was thin swirls of inlayed gold all over the piece. Pearl's eyes seemed to grow larger as the unsuspecting victim held the instrument in his right hand.

"Pearl, this is very sweet of you! It's beautiful! It's too nice to use!" Mike gushed.

"Oh, but you must use it, and think of me every time you do. Go on, click it open. I promise you you've never had a pen like it!" she teased.

Smiling, Mike clicked the cap and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right thumb. Something cold suddenly raced through his body. Gasping, he pulled the pen from his hand and saw the sharp needle with a small drop of the purple potion on the end. Dropping the pen on the floor, he grabbed his right wrist as if to halt the progress of the drug as it played havoc with his body. Intense pain raced up through him as his spine stiffed before it faded as the cold spread throughout his being. His legs lost their strength as he found himself on his knees. Pearl's kind smile turned hard as she reached out and pulled his chin up to look him in the eyes.

"This is only the beginning, Nelson. Don't worry, you're not dying. You're going to go to sleep for a while and hopefully have some very nasty nightmares. Our dance is far from over, little boy. Good night, and good luck."

Mike's mind was spinning out of his control as he felt himself fall backwards and hit the hardwood floor as his drug dulled blue eyes closed in sleep. Pearl took a step forward and gave him a hard kick in the side to make sure he was out. She took an envelope from her purse and dropped it on the unconscious man's chest, then turned to leave, hitting the light switch before she left with a malicious laugh.

It was nearly 10:30 when Joel and the bots returned from their outing.

"Man that sure was a great show! I could watch those things go off all night! Bang, bang, Boom!" Crow giggled with delight as Joel opened the back hallway door that connected the garage with the house.

"I found the pyrotechnics quite amazing...awwww heck! It was super-duper awesome!" Servo exclaimed, spinning his body about as they made their way into the kitchen.

"Shhhhhhhh...you guys! Mike's probably gone to bed already and that's where we're all heading. Gypsy and I have work tomorrow and you two have chores, remember?'

Gypsy tipped her huge purple head looking through the kitchen doorway.

"That's funny, I thought I left the lights on in the living room."

"Maybe Mike turned them off. I'll get them." Joel offered making his way past the bots and finding the switch in the dim light. He looked around when he saw Mike on the floor. Cambot was hovering on his tether, quivering.

"Mike!" He ran over to where his friend had fallen, followed by the bots.

"What's the big woohoo? He was always falling asleep everywhere on the ship." Crow shrugged off. Joel tapped Mike's face, repeating his name then looked at the bots.

"He's out like a light, and his skin is cold but he's still breathing. Cambot, what happened?"

The little bot bounced up and down and squeaked.

"Go to the computer hub and plug in for playback." Joel ordered. The little bot went up to the ceiling and sped off.

"There's an envelope on him. I'm afraid to think." Tom shuttered as he and Crow huddled next to Gypsy.

Joel carefully picked up the envelope and tore it open to remove the note inside.

"_To the alumni of the Satellite of Love:_

_Do not worry. Your precious Mike will be fine, but this is a warning to you all. I haven't forgotten those years hunting you down in time and space. Joel Robinson, you are next on my list and I have a VERY special surprise in store for you! Your little toy robots can't save you and they are on the list as well. None of you are safe from the wrath of the Forrester's."_

_All my love,_

_Pearl"_

Joel shook his head as he looked around, then spotted the pen and carefully picked it up.

"What are we gonna do, what are we gonna do?" Crow panicked.

"Why did she hurt Mike? He's harmless." Tom shuttered.

"That bitch is toast!" Gypsy roared. The others looked at her with shock and amazement. She lowered herself and snuggled against Mike. "He's my responsibility. Nobody hurts my boys, nobody."

"Let's put him in the guest room, its closer." Joel said bending down to throw Mike over his shoulder.

Joel let out a grunt as he swung Mike over his shoulder. He quickly got to the large guest room in the back of the house and dumped his friend on the bed. The trio of bots stayed close to their unconscious human while Joel worked on the computer. Several minutes later, he swung the chair around with a frown on his normally placid face.

"She came right to the front door and Mike let her in," he slammed his hand down on the computer desk, shaking the flat screen monitor with the anger he released.

"Mike's the kind of guy who would invite the Devil in for a cold glass of water." Servo mused. Joel shook his head, running a hand though his hair.

"You would have done the same thing, Joel. Neither you or Mike have a mean bone between you." Gypsy quietly noted.

Silence hung in the room several minutes. A small gasp or moan would escape from Mike's lips, scaring all present.

"He's dreaming. There must be something in whatever she gave him that's causing it," Joel explained to the bots who had now snuggled down next to Mike. "Why don't you all go upstairs to bed, I'll stay with him." The trio shook their heads in unison. Joel smiled wearily as he got up from the computer and dropped down into a heavily upholstered chair with a matching ottoman to put is feet up with.

"We'll all stay. It's what families do." Gypsy quietly affirmed. It didn't take long for Joel to drift off to sleep from sheer exhaustion. In an unusually unselfish move, Crow got up and took an extra blanket from the chest at the foot of the bed and managed to unfold it and toss it over Joel. Getting back on the bed, Tom approved.

"Well done, Crow T. Robot, well done indeed."

"I owe him at least one blanket, after all, he is my dad." Crow gently said as silence enveloped the home.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Slithers of the mid-morning sunlight peeked through the heavy drapes of the guest room where the little family slept. Mike had been fitful throughout the night but it wasn't until now that the final stages of the drug were impacting him. He began thrashing about, muttering until he suddenly sat upright and let out a blood curdling scream that woke everyone in the room. Before anyone could speak, Mike jumped off the bed and ran to the bathroom to empty his stomach.

"Whoa, haven't heard him chuck like that since he caught that Zymphorian Flu up on the satellite." Crow noted as he heard the shower turn on.

Joel's groggy eyes looked down at his watch.

"Oh man, Gypsy we're two hours late for work...had that demonstration set for today..."

"Joel, it can wait." She yawned as she slid off the bed. "I'll talk to Magic Voice and she'll reschedule. Joel sighed, nodding his head.

"You're right. I'm gonna run upstairs and shower, guys go get Mike a change of clothes, maybe pajamas too. He might not feel up to getting dressed right away. I'm curious to find out what scared him awake."

"I don't know if I want to know." Tom shivered as he and Crow followed their creator out of the room.

A half hour later found them all back in the guest room. Mike was in loose fitting blue pajama that Gypsy has purchased for him the previous Christmas.

"Mike, are you sure you won't eat something?" Gypsy coaxed. He smiled weakly, but shook his head.

"Maybe later, Gyps. I don't think I could hold anything down right now."

"Mike, you look awful!" Crow said bluntly. Joel's face was sheer exasperation.

"Crow, how many times do I have to tell you not to blurt out things like that?"

"Joel, if I'm not used to it by now, I never will be." Mike's voice was barely a sigh as Servo puttered his way close to the human and leaned close to him.

"Mike, honey?" he began sweetly, only to have his voice become loud and harsh. "How many times do I have to tell you, when the wicked witch comes to the door, you do NOT let her in?!"

"Oh, my head is pounding!" Mike moaned, draping his right arm over his eyes.

"Hangover without the booze; rough." Crow noted as Mike let himself sink into the feather bed.

"Can't remember...what happened." He muttered, trying to stay as still as he could so that the room would stop spinning. Joel pulled the chair from the computer desk up next to the bed and sat down.

"Seems Pearl Forrester paid a visit last night and gave you this." Joel's voice betrayed no emotion as he held out the pen to Mike who removed his arm from his face and took the pen in hand. A glimmer of recognition lit up his dulled blue eyes.

"I remember now. She gave this to me and when I clicked the cap..." Mike quickly dropped the pen on the bed. Joel picked it up and examined it.

"She also left us a note. Pretty much we're all on her hit list and apparently I'm next."

"She doesn't even know you. What is wrong with that woman?"

"I was hoping you could tell me. You know her better than anyone."

"Apparently, not as well as I thought I did. She's never pulled anything this evil. I mean she's done some pretty mean stuff, but this was beyond her knowledge."

"She's got someone working with her." Tom chimed in. Joel nodded as he pointed to Mike as he drifted back to sleep. With a finger to his lips, he picked up Tom and Crow and carried them out of the room and into the living room.

"You two have go to be super quiet today so Mike can rest, so if you want to play, go to the garage."

The pair looked at their creator with as much shock as their robotic faces could muster.

"No play today. We're now on guard duty!" Servo announced, "Crow, you stick with Joel and I'll keep an eye on Mike."

Joel couldn't help but laugh lightly at the fanatic devotion the bots showed. He squatted down and hugged them both.

"I love you guys so much, but I have to go to the office with Gypsy, so it's up to you to keep things quiet here. I'm setting the house security on high, so don't go outside for any reason. Stay close and if Mike needs anything, be there and if something does go wrong, you both know how to set your internal alarms that are wired to my lab." He gave each of the bots a kiss before releasing them and standing up.

"Geeze Joel, you're such a big mush!" Crow complained.

Joel took a few steps away before turning and saying with a sly voice,

"I know. It's part of my diabolical plan."

Dinner that evening was far from the raucous meal it normally was. Mike was feeling well enough to have gotten dressed to join them, but barely touched his food.

"How were things at work?" He asked, his question directed to Joel and Gypsy.

"Fine. Nothing new." Gypsy replied quietly.

"Same here." Joel replied. The dining room became silent once more until Crow banged his arms down on the table.

"I can't take this anymore! It's my fault Mike was hurt! I should have said something!"

Everyone at the table looked at the gold robot with shock. Mike frowned and reached over to take the robot's hand.

"Crow, honey there was nothing you could have done. It's all over now."

"No." Crow said, his voice becoming serious, "I had a warning from beyond."

Tom shook his bubble head.

"The first one of you who says Thunderdome will die."

"Torgo the White came to me the other night and warned me that evil was about to descend on our home, but dummy me was too groggy from overeating to have paid attention. I thought it was just a bad dream. Stupid, stupid Crow!"

"Torgo?" everyone but Crow said in shocked unison.

"Mike, didn't you tell me something about Torgo taking Frank to Second Banana Heaven?" Joel asked.

"Yeah, it was weird, Gabby Hayes, the whole bit. Things were pretty tough after that. Dr. F really ramped up the punishments, like we had anything to do with it."

"Then Mommy Dearest moved in. She wasn't so bad at first. Overbearing, but not evil." Servo noted.

"She called me Art!" Crow cried. Mike looked at the bot with great sympathy.

"Stop crying Crow. You'll mess up your relays again."

"What are we going to do? She said Joel is next." Gypsy worried.

Joel rose from his chair at the head of the table.

"Well, I am not going to live in fear of Mrs. Forrester. You all voted me head of this family and as such I refuse to give in to terrorism!" Joel put his left fist down on the table, but it ended up in the plate of spaghetti, splashing his aqua colored dress shirt with red sauce.

"Maybe we should live in fear of Joel ruining another shirt then?" Crow asked, making the room erupt with laughter.

Joel walked out the front door of the house and found Mike sitting in the heavily cushioned porch swing. He sat down next to him and handed him a warm glass.

"Rum toddy, though it might help relax you. You still seem pretty uptight." Mike took a sip and nodded as Joel drank from a long neck bottle of beer.

"What are the kids up to now?"

"Playing video games in the living room. Gypsy is trying to relax in the den. Cambot has powered down for a while and Magic Voice is somewhere...never can seem to locate her."

"Just like any other normal American family." Mike sighed, taking another sip. "Say, this is good. You make a mean drink, my friend. This should help me sleep."

A shy smile creased Joel's face. Although he was four years Mike's senior, he sometimes felt like the younger brother, always eager to please. He took another drink from the bottle, then looked over to Mike.

"What was that last dream you had? The one that woke you up screaming this morning?"

Mike shifted uncomfortably, averting Joel's gaze.

"You really don't want to know. It was too real, too close to home." Mike flatly replied, finishing the drink in his hand and putting the glass on the porch floor.

"I haven't seen you this rattled since the day you, Cambot, Tom and Crow moved in. I knew you didn't want to be here, you felt out of place."

Mike chuckled at the memory.

"Just like the first day I arrived on the Satellite of Love. One minute I'm doing my job in Deep 13, the next thing I know these three machines are dragging me down the hall. I was so scared, I thought they were going to kill me. Took two hours before they would untie me and take that gag out of my mouth."

"They were just as scared of you, you know. They had never met another human before. They told me about it when I came up to fix the ship," Joel took another swallow from the bottle, "Funny how it all worked out. Gypsy overheard the Mads planning on killing you and she thought they were talking about me. You helped me escape, but in doing so sealed your own fate to take my place, which I guess is better than being killed."

Mike laughed.

"You have such a way with words."

"So, you know the house rules. What is house rule number five?" Joel asked.

Mike grimaced.

"Rule five, we keep no secrets in this house that could hurt another. Alright, I'll tell you the dream, but remember, you asked for it." Mike took a deep breath then told the story.

"I was back at Deep 13 doing my temp job when a heard a roar of some kind. Not an animal, but some kind of machine, then this strange voice kept calling my name. I tried to ignore it, but it was hypnotic. I found myself walking down a part of the facility I'd never seen before. I just kept walking then suddenly the hallway changed and I was back on the ship. The hatch doors opened and I was on the bridge, but..."

Joel put a firm hand on Mike's trembling shoulder.

"You've come this far. Tell me the rest."

"The whole bridge was lit with the strangest green light, nothing I'd ever encountered before. Alarms were going off, it was so loud. Servo, Gypsy and Crow and Cambot were smashed into a million pieces all over the floor..." Mike stopped as the image became clear in his mind's eye. "You were lying across the control table. The blood...everywhere. Then I saw Dr. Forrester on the other side of it...he held your heart in his hands. He was laughing, and laughing...I tried to stop him...that's when I woke up."

Mike rose from the swing and went to the stairs. He leaned against one of the wooden pillars that held up the roof. Joel leaned back and rubbed his hands over his eyes.

"I see why you didn't want to tell me, but Mike, it's only a dream." Joel's argument fell on deaf ears.

"No, it was a warning." Mike's voice was as tense as his body, "now do you understand why I didn't want to mention this? Now, should we go inside and tell the bots? I may have to tell you, but I'm not scaring the hell out of them."

Joel jumped up and went over to Mike and grabbed his upper arms firmly.

"No. I'd be angry if you did tell them. For now, we keep this between us, agreed?"

"Agreed." Mike leaned his head back, bumping it on the pillar.

A window on the other side of the porch was pushed open and a shrill voice called out,

"Hey, if you girls are done with your date, Servo is cheating at Zombie Chainsaw Arcade of Death!"

Joel and Mike marched over to the window and gave Crow a very stern look.

"I told you I didn't want you to play that game. It's too violent. Where did you get it?" Mike demanded.

"Timmy gave it to me."

"Evil Timmy?" Joel's voice registered his alarm.

"Not that Timmy. Timmy Johnson down the street. I traded him for a box of bottle rockets."

"That will be enough of that. Servo, shut that thing off. We're all going to bed early tonight." Mike ordered as he and Joel headed for the door.

"No, no! I'm at Level 16!" Servo panicked. "Crow, lock the door!"

Crow rushed over and locked the front door.

"Ha ha! They can't get in now!" Crow announced, only to have the door open and the two men scowling at the bots with Joel holding a house key.

"To your rooms, both of you!" Joel ordered.

"Mike?" Tom pleaded knowing what a soft heart he had.

"Not tonight, Tom. Move!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The champagne flowed freely at Pearl's penthouse. The group of bad guys had just finished listening in to the recordings made from their bugs in Gypsy's home.

"Those pathetic dopes!" Pearl laughed, raising her finely cut crystal glass to her son. "Clayton, you out did yourself!"

Clayton raised a glass and acknowledged his mother.

"I couldn't have done it without your funding, Mother dear and your inspired idea. Who would have thought that a complex knock out drug could be so much fun?"

"Well, we have their attention now, so what's next?" Frank asked all too eagerly.

"Ah, well Nelson was just the warm up!" Dr. Forrester noted with great amusement. "The fun part is they still don't know that Frank and I are alive and that's where I'm going to hit my pet project Joel Robinson, right in his comfort zone."

"Come, come Dr. Forrester, you must tell us this plan of yours." Brain Guy implored as he sat with his brain pan in a chair across from Pearl.

"Oh, I bet it's gonna be a doozie!" Bobo chimed in.

Dr. Forrester grinned wickedly.

"It will be, my hairy friend, it will be." He put down the half empty glass and leaned back in the chair, deep in thought.

"Boy oh boy, I can't wait until we show up. It'll scare Joel to death!" Franks enthusiasm bubbled over. Dr. Forrester wagged a finger at his perfectly coiffed assistant.

"No, Frank. I'm afraid I'm going solo on this. Don't pout, you'll have your turn, but Joel Robinson is all mine." Forrester's tone took a darker turn. "For years I've had to put up with that sunny side up sap. Everyone at the institute loved him, from the other janitors right to the board of directors! Isn't he just the cleverest fellow? That boy is going places with the company! It was bad enough to have to listen to that tripe, but when they assigned him to my area, that was the end."

"What did he do to get under your skin so?" Bobo inquired.

"Everyone loved him, women adored him. That shy, mousey little boy upstaged me, ME! Doing childish magic tricks in the cafeteria, humming silly little tunes as he worked. My bosses took note and sat me down and said I should try to be more like young Joel. I should have a better attitude, mingle with my co-workers, and get involved in company outings and such. I tried to explain that I am a scientist and that I take my work seriously. Then came that dark day, the Gizmonic Open where everyone was encouraged to come up with an invention."

"I think I know where this train is heading." Brain Guy muttered under his breath.

"Larry and I had come up with what we were sure would be the winning entry. We had invented a gun that would shoot an empty hypodermic needle, draw a blood sample and then return to the gun. It was painful, but brilliant for those hard to get samples. Joel came in with a ridiculous bird feeder that had a second level so that the squirrels could eat without bothering the birds. Of course, Joel won and that's when I knew I hated him. There was no being around that fool after that. There was talk that he was going to be promoted to an inventor and have his own lab. I was not about to let that mere slip of a boy push me aside, so that's when I decided that he had to go. He would be my lab mouse. The new satellite was complete when I asked him to go do some dusting in the ship and that's when I launched his sorry self into space!"

"It would seem that from your recordings and notes that Joel did get the upper hand on you more than not." Brain Guy noted coolly. Dr. Forrester shot him an icy glare.

"Yes, I admit to that. He seemed to take the whole thing in stride. Spent his off time building those annoying robots, those bots as he calls them. He's a sly one. So many times he tried to trick Frank into bringing the satellite down, lucky I was there to stop him," he shot Frank a pained look. Frank just smiled in his boyish way and shrugged his shoulders. "At least I give Nelson credit for trying. His plans were the stuff of fantasy, but he tried, oh that boy tried!"

"Clayton, what are you going to do?" Pearl asked.

Dr. Forrester leaned forward and said in a hushed voice,

"I'm going to make Joel Robinson's blood run cold."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Cambot, run Protocol 10 again, please?"

Mike sat hunched over the computer reading what flashed on the screen. He was working in the computer center that Joel had installed when the house had been renovated. It was formally a walk in closet located under the main staircase, but the young inventor found a better use for the space. All computers in the large house ran from this hub. If Mike was to find the answers he was looking for, they would be here.

Gypsy popped her big purple head through the sliding door and watched the other young man in her life work at the keyboard.

"Mike, it's nearly dinner time and Joel isn't home yet."

"He called me at the library, said he would be home late and not to wait supper on him." Mike absently replied as he worked the keyboard.

"I don't like to pry, but what have you been doing these last three evenings?" The bot asked with gentle, but firm control. Mike swung the chair around to face her.

"I've been doing a lot of thinking about what happened a few nights ago. Pearl had to know you guys were going out. She would never have pulled that stunt with everyone around."

"I would hardly call it a stunt, Mike. She caused harm and that's a bad thing."

Mike smiled. He loved the way a robot who ran a spaceship could make something sound so simple. He reached up and patted her head.

"We've got a security breech in this house," he said seriously, "and I know I'm not as good at this stuff as Joel but he had to have missed something. We've all missed something. Even Crow and Servo have plugged into this system and they can't find anything."

"Maybe Pearl just got lucky."

"No way. Not Pearl. She's the type who likes to calculate every move...calculate, oh crap!" Mike turned to the computer again.

"Cambot, Protocol 1!"

"That's the lowest security setting Mike. There will be nothing there."

"Wanna bet?" Mike challenged. He keyed in a few commands and found what he was searching for.

"Bingo!"

"Did I lose again?" Crow asked as he and Servo squeezed their way past Gypsy. Tom hovered up to the desktop while Crow crawled up the back of Mike's chair, wrapping his arms around Mike's shoulders.

"Guys, I found the bugs."

"We have cockroaches?" Servo asked nervously, looking about.

"Not those kind of bugs, Tom. Electronic listening devices. A month ago the cable company came by to make some adjustments to our system. I remember I was home and didn't even question it. Never mentioned it to anyone in fact. Those guys must have planted the bugs that have allowed Pearl to listen in to what is going on here."

"Geeze Mike, when did you get so smart?" Servo asked honestly.

"Working with Joel on this system. When we moved in here I promised myself that we would not be a burden and would pull our weight."

"And you have Mike. Tom and Crow too." Gypsy's voice was happy with this acknowledgement.

"So, where are these little bugs so we can rip them out of our home?" Servo demanded to know.

"I should have a print out of the house and any new devices shortly, then we can rip them out Tommy boy!" Mike grinned as he grabbed the small red robot and gave the top of his head a pat, then reached for his cell phone and pushed a button. The phone rang, but no one picked up.

"He's probably working on a project. You know how Joel gets when he's working on something hot." Mike muttered as he got up and grabbed the print outs. "I'm going over to the campus and show these to him."

"Not until you've had dinner." Gypsy said firmly. Mike smiled and kissed the bot on the lips.

"Joel and I will eat when we get home." Mike smiled as he grabbed his denim jacket off the hall rack and headed out to the garage.

"Sometimes I just don't know who is worse to raise, human men or robots." Gypsy huffed with frustration.

The lights were dim at ConGypsCo as most of the staff had gone home for the evening, but in the main building there was still a flash of light in Lab 5. The security guard walking the hallway knocked on the door, then entered to find Joel working at his bench with a solitary light on.

"Working late again, Mr. Robinson?" the elderly security guard asked in a familiar fashion.

Joel looked up from his work, pulling the safety goggle off his head.

"Oh, hi Fred. Geeze is it that late already?"

"Going on eight o'clock, sir. Miss Gypsy left standing orders that you were not to work past nine. Kinda makes one wonder who's in charge, you or the robots?" the guard replied with a chuckle. Joel snickered at the statement.

"Sometimes I wonder myself, Fred. I'm almost done here and promise I'll be out by nine and if not you have my permission to throw me out."

"Don't want to go against Miss Gypsy's rules, she's a fine lady, for a robot that is. Good-night sir."

"'Night Fred." Joel said as the guard left and closed the door behind him. He settled back into his work until a voice cut through the stillness.

"Well, if it isn't the boy wonder of Gizmonic Institute. You've come a long, long way, my little space muffin."

Every fiber of Joel's body tingled with alarm.

"Can't be. I must be hearing things. Gyps was right, I have been overworking."

"It's been such a long time since we've had a chat, Jolene." The familiar voice cut through the young man's soul. He couldn't bring himself to turn around to face his fears. He continued to feed his denial.

"I must be coming down with something, probably a flu of some kind."

The familiar laugh came closer from behind.

"What I'm brining, you could only wish for the flu."

Two hands grabbed Joel's upper arms and he looked to see the all too familiar green of Dr. Forrester's lab coat clash against the purple of his own. He shut his eyes tightly, trying to will this apparition to depart.

"This..is..not...happening." The words escaped his lips as a whispered prayer.

"Open those sleepy little blue eyes of yours, child and know the truth."

Reluctantly, the young inventor opened his eyes to see Dr. Clayton Forrester standing before him. A blinding fear pushed Joel out of his chair and away from Forrester and against the nearby wall.

"No, no...You're dead. Mike told me. The star baby, your mother. Oh god please let this be a bad dream."

Dr. Forrester leaned against the workbench and let out a hearty laugh.

"Oh, this is priceless! I never dreamed I could have evoked such terror from you! Is this the young man who scoffed at every movie I sent, who now trembles like a little child watching a B movie monster? The great Joel Robinson! Reduced to a puddle of fear! Life is good!" Forrester raised his hands high with glee.

The initial shock was wearing off as Joel stepped forward to face his tormentor.

"I don't know how this happened or why, but you stay out of my life. Stay away from Mike and my bots."

Dr. Forrester smiled, folding his arms over his chest.

"And such a happy little family you are! You make me sick with your celebrations, your movie nights, and your childishness."

"I was right, the house is bugged. I knew it! How could your mother know when to show up when Mike was alone in the house?"

The older man looked Joel up and down with palatable disdain. Taking a few steps, he reached out and grabbed Joel by the arm.

"You have a very nice little shop here, Joelykins. Let's take a little walk over to your sitting area and have a pleasant little chat, just the two of us."

"Pleasant for who? Geeze Dr. F, you're hurting me!" Joel winced as Dr. Forrester escorted him across the room. Joel's office was a corner of his lab that was set up with a desk and a long beat up leather couch with a couple of worn leather chairs and a wooden coffee table between them. Dr. Forrester pushed him down on the couch and took one of the chairs across from him. The younger man's pale blue eyes betrayed his deep fear.

"My mother is a very resourceful woman. She found a way to bring me back from the dead and here I am, and here you are."

"There's something darker about you. I can feel it." Joel rubbed his sore arm.

"Death does that to you. I've seen things and learned things, I could spend hours telling you. Darkness is a special power that only a few are privileged to find and even fewer to bring back here," Dr. Forrester leaned back in the chair, enjoying every moment of this meeting. He was the cat playing with the helpless mouse before consuming it. "I have a score to settle with you and payment will be harsh."

"It must have been you then who made that nasty cocktail that Mike got. He said it couldn't have been Pearl." The realization made Forrester chuckle.

"You do have your moments, I'll grant you that."

"You'll also find out that Mike and are a pretty formidable team," Joel's confidence was returning as he smiled slightly. "Add my bots to the mix and we are unbeatable."

Dr. Forrester stood up and spun around, laughing hysterically.

"You think that you, Mike Nelson and those tinker toys can best me? That's rich!"

He went over to Joel and towered over the young man. The mad man reached down and placed his hands on the sides of Joel's face and gazed deeply at him.

"You're such a child. An innocent abroad in a big bad world. Guess what, my little lab mouse, your world is about to be turned upside down and by your own hand."

A plain black van was parked across the street from the entrance to ConGypsCo and its occupants were getting restless.

"I'm bored. I could go for a pizza about now." T.V.'s Frank grumbled from the driver's seat.

"Well so am I Frank, but we have to wait until we get the signal, then I will teleport Dr. Forrester out with Bobo and we can leave." Brain Guy explained without hiding his exasperation.

"But why couldn't you just teleport him from Deep 13? Would have been much easier."

Brain Guy sighed heavily.

"Reason one, it's less of a strain on me the closer I am to the location and Reason two is we have to watch in case Mike Nelson or those annoying toys he plays with show up. Bobo has gone over the fence on the far side in case Nelson gets past us or Joel tries to escape."

"Uh oh..." Frank said.

"What?"

"Mike just pulled up to the gate and he's driving through." Frank informed Brain Guy who sat in the darkness of the back of the van that was only lit by a console with blinking lights.

"Is he going to the library building?"

"No, looks like...oh snap, he's heading for the main building."

"Danm. Ok, time for a distraction. I hope this works." Brain Guy put all the effort he could into his mind. A few feet from Mike's SUV appeared a tall, well dressed platinum blonde.

"Geeze Brain Guy, you made Mamie Van Doren! Holy crap she's gorgeous!" Frank drooled.

"That should keep that hormone hound Nelson busy long enough for Dr. Forrester to accomplish his task." Brain Guy said as he turned to the console.

"How come you never made me a Mamie Van Doren?" Frank pouted, turning around in his seat.

"You never asked, besides she will only last ten minutes or so. We Observers never could make people that lasted long, only cheap copies."

Frank reached down to the floor of the van and picked up a pair of binoculars to watch.

"Are you watching for Bobo?"

"Hell no, I'm watching Mamie Van Doren pull Mike into the back seat of his car! That lucky stiff!"

"He won't be lucky for long, Frank."

"I'm not doing anything to hurt my friends. I've just about had enough of this. I'm leaving." Joel's rarely shown anger was rising due to Dr. Forrester's overbearing ranting. He got up from the couch and started toward the door when Forrester quickly jumped in front of him, his eyes wild with anticipation. Slipping a hand into one of his lab coat pockets, he pulled out a glass vial filled with a green and gray dusty mixture. In an instant, he flipped the top off of it and dumped the contents into the palm of his left hand and blew it into Joel's face.

"Go on, cream puff, try to make it to the door." Dr. Forrester egged on.

Joel coughed as he tried to wave the strange mixture away from his face. He took a couple of steps, then staggered and stopped. Everything was suddenly spinning like a carousel out of control. He was unaware of Bobo entering the lab.

"Did anyone see you?" Dr. Forrester asked.

"Nope. Got in by swinging along the trees. Very nice trees." Bobo replied, studying Joel as he leaned against a table, fighting his way towards the exit. "Oh this will never do, Dr. Forrester. Observer and Frank say that Mike is in the parking lot and it won't be long until he gets here." Bobo tapped lightly at the earpiece he wore.

Joel tried valiantly to take one more step, but a heavy fog seemed to take over his mind and block it from obeying his own will. He started to tumble to the floor, but the gorilla effortlessly scooped him up like a rag doll in his arms.

"Put him on the couch, if you would Professor. I'm not finished with him yet."

"Oh, you're such a handsome man, Mickey."

"It's Mike. Where did you come from? Do you work here?" Mike was sitting in the back seat of his car with the copy of Mamie Van Doren. He was doing his best to press his case with the bombshell, but she proved a tougher nut to crack than he could handle.

"Well, no. I just happened by and saw you get out of this wonderful car and just thought that any man with such a nice shiny new car, well...you know." The blonde said breathily.

"There are more ways than just driving to break in a new car." His confidence was apparent as he made a move for the zipper in the back of her dress. She gave him a quick kick to the abdomen. Mike doubled over momentarily before regaining his composure.

"You know you're driving me crazy at this moment. You push me into the back seat of my car and now all you want to do is talk?" his voice was a low growl as he snuggled closer to her. She pushed him back gently, with a sweet smile.

"A girl like me likes to take things nice and slow. It makes the payoff so feel so much more worth the effort."

"I'd like to shoot the guy who said Earth Girls Are Easy." Mike muttered under his breath. Mamie snuggled her head against Mike's pounding chest, curling her hand up behind his neck and pulling him down into a smoldering kiss.

Joel was floating somewhere between consciousness and sleep. It was only a blurred haze he could see through barely open eyes, but despite that he still knew he was in trouble. A voice spoke to him and though he fought to ignore it, he was compelled by something dark that had entered his body and was taking control.

A hand stoked his light brown hair and he recoiled from the touch.

"Still have some fight left in you, I see. Remarkable. Well, Jolie-Pollie it looks like I'll have to use some stiffer stuff to get you," Dr. Forrester noted, but was silently amazed at the fight the younger man was putting up. Bobo was on the far side of the room keeping watch with a pair of binoculars on the parking lot for any sign of Mike. Dr. Forrester reached deep in the lower pockets of his lab coat and pulled out a hypodermic needle with a green liquid inside. Joel vaguely caught sight of it and tried to get up, but was pushed back down quite easily by Forrester.

"Nice try, bupie but we're not quite finished yet."

"I would suggest you hurry, Dr. Forrester. That distraction that Brain Guy made won't last much longer." Bobo cautioned. Dr. Forrester looked at the gorilla with disdain as he prepped the needle.

"Please, Professor Bobo, don't spoil my moment of victory. This must be savored."

The needle plunged into a vein on Joel's wrist. He didn't feel the sting, but immediately felt the drug screaming through his mind. Thoughts of fighting were quickly replaced by the mind numbing surrender that possessed him.

"Can you hear me, Joel?" Dr. Forrester asked from his perch on the side of the couch.

"Yes." Joel's flat, emotionless voice replied as his eyes closed.

"Now, this is much better. Joel, you're going to do something very important for me in a few days. I will send you a message and at the appointed time you will bring Mike Nelson with you to Deep 13. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

"Yes."

"When you do this, I'm going to reward you." Dr. Forrester said pleasantly as he noted the signet ring on Joel's righthand. He slipped the ring off the inventor's finger and studied it.

"Where did you get this ring? I never noticed it before."

"It was my Grandfather Robinsons'."

"Ah, so touching! Well when you wake you won't notice it gone and if someone should ask you will tell them you left in in your lab. I'll give it back to you, but when I do, you will remember everything that has happened, but for now I want you to go to sleep and forget me. That's a good boy, just sleep and forget."

Dr. Forrester stood up and admired the ring before dropping it in his pocket.

"I think it's time we leave, Professor."

"Must admit, you are a smooth operator, Dr. Forrester. You played that kid like a Stradivarius." Bobo marveled.

"Yes, Joel Robinson and I have been at this dance for years, but finally I'm taking the lead and now he will dance to my measure and he won't like it one bit."

Bobo nodded then clicked a button on the small headset he wore.

"Big Banana to Whip Cream, we're ready to beam out."

"None too soon. Looks like Mamie flew the coop and Mike's standing around looking the fool." Brain Guy relayed what Frank told him. In a matter of seconds, the intruders vanished.

Mike walked into the main building of ConGypsCo feeling as confused as he possibly could. One minute he was almost at second base with the beauty and the next she vanished into thin air. Stopping in the men's room he threw cold water on his face and wondered why there were no lipstick stains on his shirt or face.

"Geeze, get a grip Nelson, you've never had a fantasy that good!" he muttered to himself as he dried his face and hands and headed upstairs to the lab floor. He opened the door to Joel's lab and looked around. It wasn't like Joel to work in such darkness. Going over to the office area, he found his friend asleep on the couch. He bent down and shook him gently.

"Joel, hey buddy, c'mon and wake up." All he got for his efforts was a whimper. Mike was surprised. Joel was generally not a heavy sleeper, especially this early in the evening. Mike used a firmer shake and a louder voice that finally roused his friend.

"Huh? Mike? What the..." Joel voice was thick and full of sleep.

"You ok? I came to tell you about the bugs I found at the house. Why are you so sleepy this time of evening?"

"Don't know. One minute I was working and then next you're here." Joel answered as he slowly got to his feet, only to have Mike grab hold of him.

"Easy buddy. Maybe you'd better let me drive you home. Are you sick?" Mike's concern was palatable as he slowly walked with his friend to the door.

"Don't think so. Maybe something I ate?" was Joel's innocent reply, unaware of the hold another had on his mind.

"Why don't you go sit in my car, I'll be out in a few." Mike said handing the keys to Joel who gave his friend a puzzled look.

"Where are you going at this hour?"

"Going to the gym to take a quick but very cold shower." Mike muttered as he went down the hall towards the back of the building. Joel tossed the keys in his hand and shook his head.

"Some days I just don't understand that guy at all."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

The next few evenings found the SOL family carefully removing the many tiny bugs that had been planted throughout their home. Crow and Servo made a game of it, who would find the most would win, but no one seemed to know or care what the prize would be, only that the listening devices were gone. It was Friday night when the last one was removed.

"Got it!" Joel smiled proudly, holding it up before dumping it into a bucket.

"Twenty-seven! Mrs. Forrester heard everything in this house!" Gypsy marveled.

"Hope she got a headache from it." Mike scowled. Joel picked up the bucket and slapped Mike's upper arm.

"Don't worry, we'll get even. Right now I'm going to put these little troublemakers out in the garage." Joel headed from the living room through to the kitchen.

"So, which one of you found the most bugs?" Mike inquired of the two bots.

"Eh, we stopped keeping score," Crow said as she scooted close to Mike, "But now that we're done, can we have some cake and ice cream?"

"Ooooh! Yes, yes, please Mike, Pleeessseee?" Servo begged, hopping about.

"I don't know," Mike said thoughtfully, "you two have been eating a lot of junk lately."

"They did work very hard on this project, Mike." Gypsy put in. The bots knew what a soft touch Mike was on his own. He had turned out to be more of a big brother than step-dad. The hardest the former shipmate got was when he was with Joel. Mike had such a hard time saying no.

"Ok, but you'll have it in the kitchen. I just cleaned the dining room up from supper. The brother bots were delighted as they made their way to the island table in the middle of the big kitchen.

Joel put the bucket down on the already cluttered workbench. He made a mental not to take some time on Saturday to straighten the mess out. Mike was planning on doing the yard work with Crow and Servo which would keep them out of his hair. A think smile creased his face. They were the little brothers he never got to experience. Gypsy was the all-knowing, loving mom, even with the obsessive Richard Basehart glitch. It would be a small job to remove it from her memory, but then she wouldn't be Gypsy.

It was in these moments alone Joel felt satisfied with life. His memory raced back to when Gypsy asked him to come in with him on the business and he had no hesitation. He knew she would succeed at any task she took on. It was when she saw the listing for the old run down Victorian house, she asked Joel to move in with her and help her make it into a home. It was a good time, those first two years of re-designing and re-building

The house was in a quiet suburb of Minneapolis. It was a nice middle class neighborhood. The house Gypsy decided on was the last of its kind. The neighbors were hoping for a demolition but got a remodel instead. It was a large rambling place with all the ornate gingerbread trim the Victorians were so fond of. The wide wrap around porch was rebuilt and the house painted Gypsy Purple with black shutters which horrified the neighbors, but delighted Joel and his gal.

Then there was the entire plumbing and re-wiring of the house. Joel personally supervised the electrical and the special tracks that were made for Cambot to buzz about the house, even though at that time the all-seeing bot was not with them, Gypsy had plans for all her former shipmates. The oversized turret on the right end of the house was fixed up to be a bedroom space and a new winding staircase was installed. Joel was puzzled at the bot's hurry to have the room completed, after all, he preferred his room on the second floor, but then one evening she revealed her plan to make it Mike's room. Joel was stymied by this. Mike seemed very content with his life and he would be the last person to interfere, but not Gypsy.

Even the footloose and fancy free Mike Nelson couldn't escape the resolve of the purple headed bot. Joel turned on the workbench light and noticed the framed photo of the family. They had set up a camera to take it on the weekend Mike, Crow and Tom moved in. There they all were, Joel, Mike, Cambot, Gypsy, Crow and Tom and Magic Voice, there but unseen, all sitting on the front steps of the home. It had taken his whole life, but Joel Robinson was finally home.

The ring of his cellphone brought Joel back from his daydreaming as he fished it out of his shirt pocket. Flipping it open he saw there was a text message for him that simply read:

_Tonight at midnight. Bring Nelson and you will be free._

"Hey Joel, c'mon buddy. The bots are gorging on ice cream and cake and you're the only one who can slow them down." Mike's cheerful voice cut through the murky haze Joel found himself in. The inventor blinked and shook his head, putting his phone back into his pocket.

"Awww Mike, how many times do I have to tell you not to indulge them so much? You spoil them."

"I never could say no to them." Mike said sheepishly with a shrug. Joel just shook his head and headed into the house.

"Alright, what's the rumpus about this time? Crow, put down that ice cream scoop..."

Joel slept fitfully that night. His mind was shrouded in a green mist that he couldn't seem to escape from. Finally he found himself wide awake and looking at the clock. It was 11:00 p.m.

He didn't understand why he was getting out of bed and getting dressed, only that something deep in his mind was telling him to do it. He slipped into his burgundy colored jumpsuit and put on his black sneakers. Slipping out of his room, he made his way to the other end of the house.

The light of the full moon cast a bluish silver light onto the bed where Mike slept peacefully. Joel silently slipped into the room and crept over to the bed. Bending over, he put a firm hand over Mike's mouth and shook him. His eyes sprung open with alarm and he tried to cry out.

"Mike, ssshhhhhh, it me. Be quiet." Joel ordered in an unusually harsh tone.

"What the hell are you doing? It's the middle of the night?" Mike said hoarsely, trying to find his voice through the shock he'd just experienced.

"You've got to come with me." Joel whispered as he went to the closet and pulled out Mike's green jumpsuit and tossed it to him along with his black high top sneakers. Mike's face could not hide his bewilderment as he sat up in bed.

"This is crazy? Where are we going?" Mike asked as he slid out of bed and changed into the jumpsuit without question. When it came to Joel, Mike Nelson had a blind devotion and a willingness to do whatever the other asked.

"We're going to Deep 13." Joel said plainly, but quickly slapped his hand over Mike's mouth again as he was about to yell.

"Are you out of your mind?! Why? And at this hour?"

"We have to go. Look, I came across some information that Pearl is working out of there. We have to find out if it's true and if it is we have to stop her." Joel's calm tone did little to relive Mike's jitters. He pushed Joel's hand away from his mouth and replied tensely, but quietly.

"Can't this wait until morning? What are we supposed to do? She owns the building or are you looking to get arrested for trespassing? Heaven knows she'd love that!"

Joel sat on the edge of the bed next to Mike, his pale blue eyes searching the other's darker blue.

"When have I ever steered you wrong? Would I ever put you in danger? Mike, you're the closest thing I have to a brother and I wouldn't risk that, but I have to know what's going on there. You spent more time down there than I have, you know the layout," Joel's quiet voice pleaded as he grabbed Mike's right hand. Mike glanced down and noticed the signet ring was gone.

"Your ring, what happened to it? I've never seen it off your hand." Mike noticed. Joel quickly released Mike's hand.

"I, I must have left it at the lab."

"Well, if you're that sure we need to go now..." Mike replied warily.

Joel smiled, and slapped him on the upper arm.

"We'll be in and out before anyone knows; promise."

"I don't know," Mike quietly noted as he stood with Joel at one of the back entrances to Gizmonic. "It's strange the gate wasn't lock, don't you think?"

Joel didn't answer as he worked the lock with a pick. In a matter of seconds the door yielded and the two stepped inside. Mike switched on the flashlight in his hand and looked around.

"Service entrance. Easiest lock to pick in the whole place." Joel smiled as he and Mike moved down the hall.

"Just when I think I've got you figured out, you manage to surprise me again." Mike shook his head and continued until they came to the main entrance and the elevators. The pair quickly went down a darkened hallway that led to a battered olive drab door. Joel pushed the unlocked door open to reveal a service elevator.

"The only elevator that goes to Deep 13." Joel said, stepping inside.

"I remember it well." Mike replied flatly as the pair descended into the bowls of the complex. The elevator came to a bumpy stop and they stepped out into the garishly painted green hallway that led to the round vault door that was Deep 13. Mike felt himself swallowing hard to keep a bit of bile from rising from his stomach. The fear was palatable, but Joel seemed to take the whole experience in stride. They finally came to the vault door. Joel looked at his friend with a strange amusement.

"What's the matter, Mike? Afraid of the boogie man?" he teased as he spun the wheel to open the door.

"As a matter of fact, I am. I feel like this place is haunted."

Joel opened the door and poked his head inside. The only lights were from the emergency system casting a strange glow on the once colorful lab.

"I'm surprised the emergency lights are still running after all this time. Come on, let's check it out." Joel's voice was too eager for Mike's liking. Mike put a hand on his friend's shoulder and counseled,

"Let's take it slow and easy, pal of mine. If I know Dr. Forrester, he probably booby trapped the place." Joel flashed him a pained smile as he entered.

They walked about slowly, flashing the light on every inch of the main lab. Mike felt as if his skin was crawling in the darkness. He came to a dead stop off to the side of the room.

"What's wrong?" Joel asked with genuine concern.

"This is where it happened. Forrester conked me on the noggin. It's the last memory I have of this place."

"And what a lovely memory it was, Mike!"

The voice echoed throughout the room.

"No, it can't be. He's dead." Mike voice betrayed his fear. He turned to run, only to have Joel jump in front of him and put his hands out to stop him.

"You can't leave, Mike. He wants to see you too." Joel's voice suddenly became void of emotion as his arms went limp at his side. Mike put the flashlight up to his friend's eyes, but there was no response in them.

"Don't blame Joel. He was doing what I told him to do." The voice called out tauntingly as the lights suddenly came up. "Nelson, you look like a deer in the headlights."

Mike looked across the room to find Dr. Forrester leaning in the doorway that led to his office/living quarters. The former temp pointed a trembling finger at the man in the green lab coat.

"Y, you're dead. Pearl told me when we ended up in the future. She said she killed you?" Mike's voice trailed off as Dr. Forrester crossed the room with a Cheshire smile.

"I can't begin to express what I'm feeling at this moment. I hardly know if I should hug you or choke you...maybe I'll try both?"

Mike rubbed his trembling hands over his eyes as if to blot out the sight of his former captor but to no avail. He turned his head away from Dr. Forrester as if to will him from his life. A wave of dizziness swept his mind and he staggered only to have Dr. Forrester catch him.

"No, no, no, no! Mustn't pass out before the party gets started! Frank, be a treash and bring a chair for our guest."

"Sure thing, Dr. F." Frank's cheerful voice replied as he came out pushing a wooden chair.

"Frank? But, you..." Mike weakly said as he dropped down into the chair. Frank smiled and patted Mike on the back.

"Dr. F. had a clone of me so when Pearl brought him back, she made it a double!"

"I'm not feeling very well," Mike moaned, glancing over at the very still figure of his friend. "What the hell did you do to Joel?"

Dr. Forrester bent down and patter Mike on the head like a little child.

"I'll admit it, Joel Robinson really knows how to put up a good fight. Do you know I had to give him two doses of the compound I created to get him under my control? Amazing will power, never would have guessed he had it in him."

"What did you do to him?" Mike found enough strength to slowly rise from the chair to challenge the scientist, but it didn't take much of a shove to put him back down into the chair. Frank leaned over and spoke quietly in Mike's ear.

"I wouldn't try that again, Mike. You're in for a rough night as it is, don't make it worse."

"It's a simple thing, controlling the mind, that is if you know what you are doing," Dr. Forrester explained as he pulled a ring from his lab coat pocket and showed it to Mike.

"That's Joel's ring. You took it? Why?"

"In hypnosis we used an object for the subject to focus on while they are going under. My compound uses the object as control. The more emotion attached to that object, the stronger the hold on the subject. This ring once belonged to Joel's long dead father, thus the perfect vehicle. Now, I will return it to him and the bond I have on him will be broken. Watch and learn, Nelson."

Dr. Forrester turned his attention to Joel and spoke to him in a very kind voice.

"You've done well, Joel. I'm very pleased with you. Now I will keep my end of the bargain and return you ring to you." He took Joel's left hand and place the ring in the palm of his hand and stepped back, looking down at Mike. "Now watch and learn."

Joel's movements were almost robotic as he slipped the ring back on his finger. He blinked his eyes and looked around wildly.

"What the..." he began to say, only to be cut off at the sight of Dr. Forrester and Frank.

"Frank? I thought you were...Mike said..."

"Yeah, Mike tends to overstate things, but hey, it's good to see you Joel!" Frank replied genially. Joel's eyes caught sight of Mike in the chair and suddenly a wave of memories crashed in on him. Mike found the strength and jumped out of the chair and rushed to Joel, whose countenance betrayed what he was remembering.

"Oh, god...Mike! I didn't mean to...I didn't know..."

"It's gonna be fine. It's not your fault. We're going to leave now and..." Mike comforted as he put an arm around his friend's shoulder and turned to leave only to find the exit blocked by the other half of the Forrester clan.

"And where do you think you're going?" Pearl snarled with Bobo and Brain Guy on either side of her.

Mike felt his entire body tense up and his rarely shown temper rise.

"Pearl, I've never hit a woman, but with the mood I'm in if I were you, I wouldn't take the chance."

"So, this is Mrs. Forrester. Wow, you didn't exaggerate, she is 99 and 44/100th percent bad." Joel smirked, looking the woman up and down. "I think we can take them."

The Forrester gang filled the cavern with laughter. Dr. Forrester strolled to where Mike and Joel stood and pulled the young inventor away from Mike.

"You boys are suffering from shock. It has weakened you physically and mentally, though it doesn't take much in that department. Between the two of you, you couldn't fight your way out of a wet paper bag with both ends open! Frank, escort Joeliekins to my office. We have a lot of tests to run and not much time."

As Mike watched in fear as Frank came to take Joel away, he felt the hairy arms of Professor Bobo wrap around his chest from behind.

"Tests? What tests?" Mike demanded.

Pearl looked at Dr. Forrester with mock shock, putting a gloved hand to her face.

"Oh, didn't we tell you? Clayton dear, you tell them."

"Why thank you Mother!" Dr. Forrester said sweetly, then turned to face both Joel and Mike. He pointed to both of them and spoke with a frightening voice.

"Mother is in the process of building another ship and when it's ready, we are going to launch you, Joel Robinson and you Mike Nelson back into space along with your precious bots. The experiment is far from over, kiddies. This time however, I've decided to find out what makes you two so resistant to bad movies and when I find out what it is, I will have the means of controlling the minds of every man, woman, and child on Earth!"

"I suppose then that's when you kill us?" Joel asked meekly.

"Why would I want to do that?" Dr. Forrester replied with mock amazement. "You're far too valuable to me alive. You will be the constant reminder of my triumph."

"Wait a minute, if you have that drug you used to control Joel's mind then why don't you use that instead of us?" Mike demanded. Dr. Forrester tuned to him with a raised eyebrow.

"My, haven't we become the bright little penny? Well Mike, I'll tell you. That compound is far too expensive and unstable to make in mass quantities, besides I so enjoy our experiments. I've spent too many years conditioning you both to jump when I command you to."

"Electric shock, cutting off the air, both great motivators." Mike replied flatly as Dr. Forrester stood toe to toe with Mike.

"That was kids' stuff compared to what I have available to me now," Dr. Forrester smiled as he stared into Mike's eyes. "You're going to pay, both of you for those times you made a fool of me."

Dr. Forrester stepped away from Mike.

"Frank, escort Joel to my office. Mother, I'll leave you to take care Mike. I'll need at least ten vials of blood to start with. I'm sure you can handle that?"

"It will be a pleasure," Pearl said sweetly as Frank, Joel and Dr. Forrester left the room. "Bobo, make Nelstone here as uncomfortable as you can."

The gorilla pushed the human back into the chair he had been sitting in.

"Bobo, you're an intelligent ape, can't you see what's going on here is wrong?" Mike challenged as he was strapped into the chair. Bobo bent down and looked at Mike with a pitiful gaze.

"Sorry Mike, but you know the Lawgiver. It's a matter of I'd rather this hurt you more than me."

"Oh great..." Mike muttered under his breath as he felt the chair recline.

"Miiikkkeeee!" Joel's strained voice cried out.

"Sorry pal, I'm a bit tied up at the moment!" he called back. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he watched Brain Guy merrily roll a tray next to him with an assortment of needles and his nurse outfit. Even on a good day a blood drawing made him nervous, but this was going to be torture.

"Do you really need that much blood?" Mike asked meekly as Brain Guy prepped his arm for the ordeal to come.

"Oh Mike, don't be such a big baby! Think of it as a donation to science." Brain Guy smiled briefly before a commotion was heard coming from Dr. Forrester's office. Joel bolted through the doorway and stood briefly in the middle of the room, frantically looking towards Mike who caught sight of him out of the corner of his eye.

"Get out of here Joel, now!" He barked. Joel made it to the main door with Frank in hot pursuit.

"Don't let him escape! Dr. Forrester's voice roared. Joel was just pulling the huge door open when Frank pounced on his back. He jammed a metallic rod about the size of a pencil into the inventor's shoulder. Joel's body twitched from shock as Frank put the device his pocket. Dr. Forrester came to see the results.

"Well, that new stun pencil works great! Good job, Frank. Now let's take this very naughty boy back and get started." They each grabbed an arm and dragged the half-conscious man away.

Mike swore under his breath as he closed his eyes waiting for his ordeal to start.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Well, that was a very satisfying evening's work, I must say!" Dr. Forrester crowed, leaning against the wall of the entryway to Deep 13. Frank pulled off the latex gloves and stuffed them into his pocket.

"You should have enough blood samples to keep those two on the run for quite some time, Clay; but what are we going to do with them now? Can't just let them walk out of here. What if they go to the police?"

Dr. Forrester patted Frank on the shoulder.

"Mother has devised a plan that will add insult to injury."

The pair entered the lab to see Bobo carrying Joel out and dumping him into a chair next to Mike.

"Well Mother, tell Frank here what you have planned for our crazy cosmonauts here."

"Just watch." Pearl smiled, nodding to Brain Guy who willed the two victims to disappear. She went to the desk and picked up the receiver of the slime green phone and dialed a number.

"Police? This is Pearl Forrester and I'm scared out of my mind! I'm at the old Gizmonic Institute. Someone is trying to break into the building and I'm here all by myself...yes, I own the building...I think there are two of them, there's a car parked in the back...oh, please hurry!" Pearl smugly hung up the phone. "Turn on the security cameras and watch the fun while I go upstairs to play the scared lonely woman."

A quivering hand tried to push back the heavy plastic cover of the green dumpster in the back of the Gizmonic building. A sickly groan cut the night air.

"Joel? Is that you?" Mike's hoarse voice asked.

"Mike? What's going on?" Joel's muffled voice inquired.

"C'mon, let me..." Mike was suddenly cut off by the sound of banging metal and intense light.

"Let's go! Out of there, both of you!" A thunderous voice ordered.

"What?" Joel asked before he was pulled out of the dumpster by a pair of muscular policemen. He shielded his eyes from the bright lights of the two police cruisers and flashlights as he was shoved against the hood of one of the cars.

"Is it safe to come out?" Pearl's voice asked timidly.

"Yes, Mrs. Forrester. You can come out, we have them in custody." Sgt. Fedderman, the officer in charge informed her. She made her way to his side as Joel and Mike were being patted down and cuffed. Doing her best to hide her amusement, she put a hand to her face to feign shock.

"Mike Nelson?! I can't believe this!"

He got a glance of Pearl before one of the officers snapped his gaze to him as he and Joel were read their rights.

"You know these men, Mrs. Forrester?" Sgt. Fedderman asked in surprise.

"Unfortunately, yes. I know that one, Mike Nelson. He used to work for my son, Dr. Forrester before he passed away." She said sadly.

"He's alive! You twisted, sick..." Mike cried out before one of the police put a nightstick to his throat and ordered him to be quiet. The pair were quickly deposited into the back seat of one of the cruisers.

"Looks like they're both intoxicated, or on drugs. We are arresting them for disorderly conduct and then they will see the overnight judge in cases such as this." The sergeant explained.

Pearl looked almost too excited at this point when she asked if they would be sent to jail. Sgt. Fedderman smiled.

"I doubt it, Mrs. Forrester. In cases like this we just throw them in the drunk tank, give them a hearing and a fine. The hearing starts at 4 a.m. so there's no need for you to be there. I would suggest you not stay in this building alone at night, and we'll have their car impounded too. Good night, Mrs. Forrester."

"Good night, Sgt. Fedderman, and thank you again for your fine work!" Pearl smiled and waved at the police left the grounds. She hurried back to Deep 13 to join the raucous gang.

"Mother that was sheer genius! I though Nelson was going to kill you for a moment there!" Dr. Forrester chuckled with wicked glee.

"Those poor guys are so stoned right now, they don't even know what's happening!" Frank snickered.

"But that drug will wear off quickly and when they realize the pickle they're in...Oh, I have to call the TV station and newspapers!" Pearl giggled as she made her way to the phone again. "I can't wait to see those two fools on the six o'clock news tomorrow!"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The shrill ring of the phone snapped the big purple robot from her sleep. Next to the round bed was a table with several large buttons of which the blue one was blinking.

"Phone." She said sleepily.

"Gyps? Are you there?" Joel's voice came over the speaker.

"Joel?"

She could hear her creator take a deep breath.

"Honey, we're in big trouble." Gypsy snapped fully awake at this revelation. She asked where he was.

"Mike and I are at the Central Police Station. We were arrested for disorderly conduct."

"WHAT!?" Gypsy cried out. "Stay frosty Joel, I'll have a lawyer there in no time."

"It's one a.m., you can't possibly get us a good lawyer at this hour." Joel sighed.

"Wanna bet? The money I pay my firm, I'll have him there within the hour."

"Gotta go honey, thanks." Joel said meekly as he hung up the phone. Crow and Tom entered the room.

"What's the racket Gyps? You woke us up." Crow complained.

"I've got to call the lawyer, Joel and Mike were arrested."

"WHAT?" the two bot cried out in unison as Gypsy told the phone who to dial. A sleepy voice came over the speaker.

"Mr. Hardgrave, this is Gypsy. I hate to call you at this hour but my boys need your help..."

Joel and Mike sat on a metal bench in the drunk tank of the police station. The large cage smelled of stale air, alcohol and body odor. There were nearly thirty men either milling about in a drunken daze or sleeping it off on one of the cold benches.

"Feeling any better?" Mike asked Joel flatly.

"A little, you?"

"Getting there. I'm pretty fed up with being the Forrester's favorite pin cushion." Mike grumbled. Joel snickered, then bent forward, putting his hands over his face.

"Mike, I'm so sorry..."

Mike smiled, patting his friend's back.

"I told you it wasn't your fault, so there's nothing to forgive. Dr. F. is playing dirty again. Right now I just want to get out of here."

A burley man with red, pocked marked skin crossed the room and stood in front of the pair. Stained jeans and a rumpled flannel shirt did little to help his demeanor. His breath was enough to rouse Joel from his stupor as he sat back against the cool cinder block wall.

"Well, well what have we here? A couple of trick or treaters?" The man's voice was as gnarled as his face as he took note of the jumpsuits the pair wore. "Didn't know this was a costume party!"

Mike and Joel did their best to ignore the brute, but the intruder was having none of it. He bent down and got right in the pair's faces.

"Guess you've never been arrested before. I can tell by the stench of fear you're giving off."

"Better than the stench you're giving off, ugly." Joel's uncharacteristic nastiness took both Mike and the stranger by surprise. Mike laughed weakly, putting an arm around Joel's shoulders.

"You'll have to pardon my friend, see we've had kinda a rough night and..."

Before Mike could finish, Joel was on his feet and in the man's face.

"Look dickweed, I'm in no mood for your color commentary on my clothing or my state of mind, so why don't you crawl back into your corner of this cell and leave me and my hangover alone?!"

"Oh, we got us a smartass here?" the large man asked loudly enough to get the attention of the whole cell, or at least those conscious enough to listen. Mike slowly got to his feet and squeezed himself between the two men and faced Joel.

"Uh, Joel, honey? I don't think this is the time or place for..."

"Sit...down...Mike." Joel growled in a tone he'd never used to Mike before. Mike sunk back down to the bench and shook his head.

"Been nice knowing you." He muttered under his breath.

"C'mon Chet, lay that kid out!" someone called from across the room that got the whole cell buzzing with the excitement of a coming fight. The big man took now stood toe to toe with the inventor.

"You don't look like the type to pick a fight, so it's about time someone taught you what it's like to get your head kicked in. After that, I'll take care of your girlfriend there." Chet pointed to Mike. It was that moment that Joel's mind snapped and let loose with a blow to the big man's chin that sent him careening across the cell and to the floor. The combination of adrenalin, the unknown drug that Dr. Forrester had administered and fear transformed the meek and peaceful Robinson into a raging maniac.

Chet lay on the cold floor, stunned at the power of the blow that sent him flying. Joel started toward him, both hands clenched in a blind rage to finish the job he'd started, but Mike stepped in and blocked him.

"Let me pass, Mike." Joel ordered.

"No more. You made your point." Mike said quietly, trying to reason with his friend, but Joel was having none of it. He pushed past Mike, moving closer to his intended target. Mike knew it was time to get physical to stop Joel. Physically, Mike was bigger than his friend and he knew how to take advantage of that as he has proved many times horsing around at home. Mike threw an arm around Joel's throat and pulled him back and took his left arm and pinned it behind his back.

"Listen to me, Joel. This is not you, it's the drug. You've never picked a fight with anyone. Calm down, just calm down. I'm scared too, but don't let Dr. Forrester win, remember that, don't let him win." Mike spoke in a whisper into his friend's ear. As he did, he could feel the tension leave Joel's body and he quickly released him from the hold. Just then, two policemen showed up at the cell.

"Nelson! Robinson! Your lawyer is here!"

"Saved by the bell." Mike sighed as the pair left the cell and went to a bland colored, windowless room to meet with Mr. Hardgrave. After telling him their story, the older man sat quietly before speaking.

"You both insist on sticking with this cock and bull story you've concocted?" he asked plainly.

"Mr. Hardgrave, it's the truth." Joel simply stated with exhaustion in his voice from his ordeal in the holding cell. The elderly man looked down at this notes and then back at the two young men.

"Joel, I've never bought that whole shot into space and forced to watch bad movies story. You're a brilliant inventor. Miss Gypsy is proof of that, but you boys have got to face reality and grow up."

"So, what do we do now?" Mike asked, quickly changing the subject. He hated the fact that no one believed the story of their adventures on the Satellite of Love. He knew it especially stung Joel.

"My advice is that you plead guilty and pay the fine." Mr. Hardgrave said plainly.

"What, and let Dr. Forrester win again? He's the one who should be here, not us!" Mike exploded. Joel closed his eyes and sighed.

"We can't fight a dead man, Mike."

"Exactly!" Mr. Hardgrave agreed. "If you plead innocent, there will be a trial which will bring lots of unwanted attention to ConGypsCo. As attorney for the corporation it is my job to protect the company at all costs. I know the last thing you both want is to hurt Miss Gypsy, she cares for you both very much. So, we plead guilty, pay the fine and that will be the end of this, and boys, this had** better** be the end of this. You scared the daylights out of Mrs. Forrester and she's a very powerful woman, I believe you know her, Mike."

"Yes, Mrs. Forrester and I go way back, the old space hag." Mike said with a smile. Mr. Hardgrave ignored his remark and rose from his chair.

"I'll arrange to have you boys put in a private cell until the court convenes. I told Miss Gypsy to stay at home and I will drop you off after the hearing."

Joel and Mike thanked the attorney as he got up and knocked on the door to be let out. Joel burst out laughing.

"Space hag? Yeah, I can see it now in that VW Bus of hers!"

"I swear I will never NEVER work for another temp agency again!" Mike laughed also.

"And I solemnly swear that I will NEVER clean another space ship!"

The pair sat quietly in the small holding cell. They hardly spoke a word in the three hours that had past. They had been trying to sleep off the effects of their latest encounter with the Forrester's. The sound of jangling keys and heavy steps roused them from their sleep.

"Robinson, Nelson, time to see the judge." The officer said sharply as they rose and followed the officers down the long, brightly lit hallway and into an elevator. The sudden upward movement made both of them queasy, but the feeling passed as the doors swooshed open and they stepped out into a wood paneled hallway. They were led down another hall until they reached their destination, Courtroom B. The bailiffs opened the doors as the police exchanged custody of their charges and left. The bailiff pointed to a bench in the back of the room and the two young men sat to wait their turn where they were joined by Mr. Hardgrave.

"Just a heads up to you both. Mrs. Forrester is here, just a few rows ahead of you."

The pair just looked at their lawyer with disbelief.

"Don't look at her, don't acknowledge her. She can't testify since this is a civil matter. When we leave, don't look at her, don't say a word, do you understand me?"

"Yes, sir." They both replied quietly just as the bailiff announced their case.

"The City of Minneapolis vs Joel Robinson and Michael J. Nelson."

The pair walked down the aisle, consciously averting their eyes from Pearl who was dressed in a very conservative black suit and doing her best to look the injured party. The judge looked over the file and then down at the pair standing next to Mr. Hardgrave.

"Geeze Charlie, I've never seen you at night court before. What is so special about this case that got you out of bed?" The judge tried not to show his enjoyment at his colleague's appearance.

"Your honor, I represent the ConGypsCo Corporation and these are two of the employees who live with the owner, Miss Gypsy." Hardgrave explained.

"I see, I see. Well, you both have charged with disorderly conduct, public drunkenness. What do you have to say for yourselves?" the judge asked simply.

"My clients choose to plead guilty and are prepared to pay the one thousand dollar fine each." Hardgrave said evenly. The judge nodded his agreement.

"This is a first offence for both of you. I understand you both hold good paying jobs and have a very nice home. I won't ask you who or what sent you on this wild escapade of yours, but I don't ever want to see you in this court again, do you understand me, boys?"

"Yes, your honor." Mike and Joel said timidly.

"Sixty days in jail or one thousand dollars. You may make your payment at the cashier's office on your way out. Next case."

The gavel rang loudly as Mike and Joel left with Mr. Hardgrave. They quickly made their payment and were near the front doors of the courthouse when a flurry of flashes and microphones where shoved in their faces.

"Mr. Robinson, what were you looking for at Gizmonic?"

"How do you see this incident affecting stock prices of ConGypsCo?"

"Mr. Nelson, how well do you know Mrs. Forrester?"

"Mr. Robinson, is there any truth to the rumors that you are planning to marry Miss Gypsy? Can that be done legally?"

The last question made Joel and Mike look at each other in horror. They suddenly pushed their way through the crowd of cameras and microphones and into the safety of a limo that whisked them away into the early morning light, leaving behind one Pearl Forrester who laughed heartily watching the limo disappear.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It was just past six a.m. when Joel and Mike waved their thanks to Mr. Hardgrave and watched him pull away. They found the key to the garage door in its safe hiding place in a mini safe under a piece of loose siding protected by a password. Quietly, they made their way through the garage and into the kitchen, hoping no one would be up, but finding the three bots along with Cambot sitting around the kitchen table.

"Whoa, you fellas sure had a busy night for yourselves!" Crow noted loudly as Cambot dropped down from his ceiling tract and inspected the two bedraggled humans.

"Cambot!" Joel grumbled as the littlest robot zoomed back to his ceiling perch to observe.

"Crow, neither of us are in the mood for your snippy comments and that goes double for you, Tom." Mike warned as he and Joel sat down at the table.

"I didn't say a thing!" Servo defended himself.

"I'm sorry. Didn't mean to snap like that Servo, Crow." Mike apologized.

"Me too, Cabot." Joel added meekly.

"Why don't you both shower and change your clothes and by that time we'll have breakfast ready and you can tell us what happened." Gypsy offered.

"I just want to sleep." Joel said. The big purple robot shook her head.

"No. You need to eat first. I'll order out and have it delivered."

"Where do you know a place that delivers breakfast at this hour? Mike inquired, slowly getting up from the chair. Joel got up and shook his head.

"Don't ask. She knows things we mere mortals will never know."

Hot showers, clean clothes and breakfast seemed to revive the bedraggled men back to a semi state of consciousness and clarity of mind. They gathered in the family room located in the back of the house. It was a rumpus room of sorts, mostly set up for Tom and Crow as a playroom, but it was a nice quiet place for family meetings too. There were childlike crayon drawings on the wall with Crow's name scrawled on them, then there was the wall of watercolor and oil painting done by Tom Servo. Toys and gadgets scattered about. It was the one room in the house the bots were allowed to keep messy. Gypsy was curled up on the couch next to Tom and Crow as Mike and Joel dropped down into the pair of recliners that had seen better days.

"Time for secrets is over," Mike gave Joel an earnest look, "we have to tell them everything."

"I know," Joel let out a deep sigh. "Kids, I hate to tell you this...I can't!"

"They have a right to know. It's for their own protection." Mike counseled, but with a sadness in his voice that alarmed the bots.

"Whatever it is, please tell us." Gypsy requested.

Joel Robinson leaned forward and took a deep breath.

"Dr. Forrester is back from the dead. Pearl found some way to accomplish this, I'm not sure how, but he's back and so is Frank."

The silence in the room was deafening as the three bots starred at their creator, slack jawed. As usual, Crow found his voice first.

"Nawwww...you guys are joking! This whole thing is some elaborate joke you're pulling on us!"

"I know! You're getting back at us for misbehaving at Mike's graduation party!" Servo laughed, but as he studied the total lack of humor on the faces of the humans, he knew they were deadly serious.

"Who do you think concocted that drug that knocked Mike out? That had Dr. F.'s signature all over it." Joel replied with a touch of bitterness to his voice. Mike took over the narrative effortlessly.

"About a week ago, from what we can piece together, Dr. Forrester paid a visit to Joel at the lab when he was working late and put him in a hypnotic trance with a subliminal message to bring me to Deep 13. That's where we were last night, and before you say it again, Joel, it wasn't your fault." Mike said without looking at Joel before he continued. "We can't remember much only that they took a lot of blood samples from us both and doped us up. Then they had us arrested. Looks like the Forrester's have plans for us all."

"They want to shoot us back into space to continue the experiments." Joel concluded.

The three robots looked at each other before utter panic set in. It was Tom and Crow who were suffering most from the shock of this revelation. Gypsy quivered and muttered.

Joel and Mike swiftly moved to their aid. They sat down on the couch and grabbed the bots, holding them tightly, doing their best to sooth their nerves.

"I don't wanna go back to space, Joel! I like it here on Earth!" Crow cried.

"Me too! Mike, you said we were going camping this summer!" Tom sniffed.

"This is a wonderful place. I don't want to leave either." Gypsy sighed as she wrapped herself around her family. The two humans looked at each other, shaking their heads.

"We'll do everything possible to protect you guys, but I'm not going to promise everything is going to be ok this time." Joel said sadly as Crow snuggled close to him.

"But no matter what happens, we'll be together and isn't that what family is all about?" Mike offered hopefully, but his words fell on deaf ears. Tom and Crow did not like what they were hearing.

"You guys sound like you've already given up! Do you expect us to go to our rooms and start packing for a long interstellar flight? No way, Jose, not this bot!" Tom Servo anger was showing as Crow joined him.

"Yeah, what's with you two? What happened to our all-knowing creator, Joel Robinson? Normally you would have hatched a plan by now, and you, Mike Nelson! Where's that defiant spirit? The guy who kept us going and gave us hope? Now you're just gonna hang it up and let Dr. Forrester take everything away from us without a fight?"

"Now, we didn't say that..." Mike argued only to be cut off by Joel.

"Hey! We're just trying to prepare you for the worst case scenario."

"So, what's the plan, then?" Gypsy asked hopefully.

Mike and Joel looked at each other, as if they could read each other's minds.

"Right now, the two of us need some sleep. Later we'll all sit down and come up with a plan." Mike explained as he stiffed a yawn. Both he and Joel got up and headed for the door, then turned to look at their little family.

"It's going to be ok, kids." Joel smiled as he and Mike left the room.

"Ok, my Aunt Minnie's purse strings." Crow grumbled.

"Looks like it's up to us to rise to the occasion and do something spectacular yet again," Servo said boldly, then changed his tune to a more quite demeanor when he added,

"I do hate the spectaculars, they always take so much out of me."

It was just past three p.m. when a loud bang from outside woke Mike from a sound sleep. He lay still for a few moments before hearing the noise again. Getting up, he went to one of the windows and pulled the curtains back.

From his vantage point in the turret bedroom he surveyed a small army of workmen unloading what looked like bails of wire fencing. Sticking his head out the window, he yelled to the workmen,

"What's going on down there?"

"Got an order for a rush fence job here, buddy. Wanna come down and sign it?" the foreman called up.

"Who ordered it?"

"Some guy named Crow T. Robot. He said to charge it to ConGypsCo, a Joel Robinson account."

The look of shock on Mike's face was readable to the work crew as Mike bumped his head on the window.

"We'll be right down!"

"Crow! I'm gonna kill that little..." Mike seethed as he threw on a pair of sneakers and flew down the spiral staircase and sprinted across the upper hallway, careening into the door to Joel's room. Without thought, he threw the door open and slammed it behind him.

"What the..." Joel's eyes were barely open and Mike pulled him from the bed and over to the large bay window that faced the front yard.

"Crow is having security fencing installed, and charging it to you!" Mike's voice was strained as his blood pressure rose. Joel dropped down on the bench seat that surrounded the windows.

"Oh lord..." Joel groaned as he fumbled about the room for his shoes and quickly put them on. He and Mike went charging down the grand staircase and out the front door to the porch where they both hollered.

"CROW!"

"Busted!" Servo announced to Crow as they sat on the back of one of the trucks. Joel and Mike charged over to the crew and demanded to know what was going on as a small crowd of their neighbors gathered.

"We got a rush order to install this high security electric fence and top it with barbed wire. Same as they use at the prisons. Boss said it sounded weird but the guy said money was no object and we'd be paid for the overtime." The foreman explained, motioning for his crew to stop unloading. "The little gold guy said it would be covered by ConGypsCo under a Joel Robinson account."

Mike and Joel took a few moments to compose themselves. Joel went over to get the bots while Mike explained.

"It seems these guys like to pull pranks sometimes. We didn't order this and you can take it back. Tell your boss to bill us for the time and travel and we'll pay that. I'm really sorry about this. Sometimes the little guys get out of hand."

The foreman nodded, the pointed to Mike with a look of recognition.

"Hey, aren't you the two guys who got arrested last night?"

"What of it?" Mike asked cautiously.

"Haven't you watched the news? You guys are the top story! Man, it took a set of balls to pull off a stunt like that!" The foreman laughed, but quickly stopped when he noticed the lack of humor on Mike's face.

"Just have your boss bill us, please?"

"Sure thing, Mr. Nelson, sure thing. Ok boys, load it back up."

Joel joined Mike as he carried the two bots in his arms. They both looked at the crowd of neighbors muttering amongst themselves.

"Sorry folks, the show is over for today." Joel announced as he and Mike headed back to the house. Entering the house, they went to the living room and plopped the two bots down on the gray couch and looked around.

"Where's Gypsy? Did she know about this?" Mike asked, trying to keep his temper in check.

"We, kinda turned her off." Tom admitted meekly.

"You what?!" Joel was nearly frantic at this point. He knelt down in front of the bots to get total eye contact with him and the two bots knew trouble was coming their way. "How many times have I told you two to never EVER shut Gyps down like that?"

"Oh crap! I'll go start her reboot." Mike said leaving the room quickly. Tom and Crow couldn't understand what all the fuss was about.

"Geeze, you guys turn us on and off all the time." Crow said plainly as Mike returned with Gypsy's head in his arms. Joel looked up from the bot and pointed to the staircase.

"Main computer terminal Mike, I'll be right there," he then turned back to the bots. "This is very serious guys. Taking Gypsy off line without a proper sequence is like throwing your laptop into the bathtub with it still on. She runs the whole house and now when we need it the most, we have no security system."

"Joel, I got her plugged in, but I can't make out this readout." Mike called from the command computer tucked away under the staircase.

Joel got up and looked down at the mischievous bots.

"I want you to go to your rooms and stay there until Mike or I say you can come out."

Tom and Crow looked at each other, then at their very stern creator.

"Guess we really screwed up this time?" Crow asked meekly as he and Tom jumped off the couch. Joel shook his head.

"Big time, boys, now go." Joel's tone was more hurt than angry and the pair knew that. It wasn't so bad to make Joel or Mike angry, but when they were hurt, that was harder to bear. The inventor then turned his attention to the computer room as he made his way there. Mike got up from the command console and handed it over to Joel who quickly scanned the readouts.

"It's going to take at least twelve hours to reboot her safely." Joel pounded a fist hard on the table. Mike slumped against the wall, rubbing his eyes.

"Looks like we'll be pulling an all-nighter."

"Not you Mike. Gypsy is my responsibility."

"Excuse me? She's OUR responsibility, pal of mine. We'll take it in shifts, that way we can each get some rest, agreed?"

"Yeah, rest up for the next Forrester assault," Joel sighed. "I'm gonna talk to the bots. You ok keeping an eye on things down here? If a red warning sign comes up, hit control, alt, delete and that will freeze the program, but so far she's booting up fine."

"I think I can handle it, go do your thing, Daddy-O."

Joel turned to leave, but stopped.

"Daddy-O?"

"Yeah, that's the code name Tom and Crow use for you. See, I have some bot tidbits on you too, Daddy-O."

"I knew I gave them too much free will." Joel muttered as he left the computer room and headed up the stairs. He walked down the hall, trying to find the right words for what he had to say, but came to Tom's door before he could. As angry as he was, he couldn't help but smile at the array of signs on the door from No Girls Allowed to Trespassers Will Be Shot, Questioned, and Then Shot Again. Knocking softly on the door, he peeked in to find Tom and Crow sitting on Tom's bed. Crow looked up from his comic book, Tom from the latest Fruit of the Loom catalog. It made the two young men shake their heads trying to figure out where the red robot got his love of human undergarments. The pair of robots looked up from their reading.

"You're not going to throw stuff at me, are you?" Joel asked as he poked his head through the opening.

"Naw, you're safe...for now." Crow intoned as his creator entered the room. Picking his way through the toys, magazines and underwear, Joel made a mental note to make sure his bots cleaned their rooms on a more regular basis.

He pulled up a brightly painted red wooden chair and sat down with the back facing him, draping his arms over the top of the chair.

Joel was settling in for a long chat.

"First, I want to apologize for losing my temper. Between Mike pulling me out of bed and seeing that mess in the yard, you have to try and understand, but the thing that makes me most upset is what you two did to Gypsy." The bots seemed to relax a bit, knowing the worst was over.

"So, are you going to bawl us out, then turn us over to Mike for part two?" Servo asked with a bit of trepidation. Joel shook his head.

"No. Mike is busy watching Gypsy's re-boot. I created you so the final responsibility for your actions falls on me. Fellas, you've pulled some pretty crazy stunts in your time, but frankly I'm flabbergasted by this. Are you really that scared? Don't you trust me and Mike to do what's best for you? You are my family. What has it been now? Sixteen years since I created you, and in that time have I ever let anyone harm you?"

The two bots thought a moment before Crow spoke with a tone of great indignity.

"Well, you have torn my arms off a few times."

"And you have been known to blow my head up from time to time." Tom added with the same tone in his voice.

Joel was taken aback by his bots statements.

"That was not meant to be harmful. Not in the way Dr. Forrester has hurt us in the past and now. I know I'm not the world's greatest Dad, but I've tried and I've failed, but that's what humans do." Joel's voice was strained as he tied to put his feelings into words. The brother bots looked at each other, then to Joel and didn't speak until Tom broke the silence.

"I never thought you could fail, Joel."

"Yeah, I thought that the good guys always won the day." Crow added with child-like simplicity.

Joel smiled sadly, laying his head on his arms and exhaling a heavy sigh.

"I wish life was like that, my little robot buddies. Maybe it's my fault for misleading you. I just want you to have the best life possible. I want nothing but happiness for you, just like any human parent would want for their children. I've tried to wrap you up in human emotions, but left out what happens when those emotions get hurt. I'm so very sorry I mislead you. Our time on the Satellite of Love was so special I thought I could keep that magic alive, but I guess I was just fooling myself."

The two bots jumped from the bed and latched on to their creator, making him loose his balance and fall to the cluttered floor with Tom and Crow on top of him.

"You're the best Dad ever, Joel!" Crow cried, hugging him tightly.

"Don't be so hard on yourself, you've been a great Dad! We promise to be better, we really do!" Tom vowed, snuggling under Joel's chin which made him giggle.

"Tom, that tickles! Crow, knock it off!"

"The Tickle Monster is getting Joel!"

"Ok, you guys! Stop it! I gotta get back to...please stop!" Joel was laughing too hard to get the two bots to stop until they did on their own. He sat up and hugged the both of them. "I can never stay mad at you too. Ok, you can come out of the room now, but you're to stay in the house."

Joel got to his feet and looked down at the two robots.

"Your punishment is that there will be no Family Movie Night tonight."

"Awwwww Joel!"

"That bites!"

"Mike and I are going to be too busy with Gypsy. Maybe next time you'll think about that." Joel advised as he left the room.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"I could watch that footage all day!" Pearl said with utter delight as she turned off the computer monitor in Dr. Forrester's office off the main lab of Deep 13.

"The Sunday papers were especially brutal in their reports of the incident." Brain Guy smiled a she handed Pearl a stack of newspapers. The front pages headlined the story, turning into a scandal with unflattering photos of Joel and Mike being escorted into the police station. There were even mug shots printed that Pearl gloated over.

"I have to get glossies of these and have them framed for my office."

"You came off as the poor widow victim, a nice touch, I must say." Brain Guy said approvingly.

"Yes, the press is so easy to bend to one's wishes. Mike and his little friend Joel must be so mortified at this moment. I love it!"

Pearl got up from the desk and went into the lab where Dr. Forrester was working with Frank and Bobo.

"Clayton, you have to read the papers! Nelson and Robinson are public enemy's number one!"

"Mother, I'm so happy with your delight over the situation, but I am far too busy at this moment." Dr. F. absently replied as he looked through the high power microscope.

"Professor Bobo, Observer, did either of you ever have the opportunity to take blood samples of Mike?"

"Would that be before or after he blew up Earth?" Bobo asked. Brain Guy gave him a pained look.

"We Observers didn't get the chance. Pearl and Bobo were a handful as it was. Why do you ask, Dr. Forrester?"

Dr. Forrester looked up from his microscope, putting his glasses back on.

"I've found a small anomaly in his blood. Nothing harmful, unfortunately, but still very intriguing."

"Maybe it was from the time when he became a being of pure energy and lived in space for five hundred years." Peal mentioned very off-handedly.

Dr. Forrester's eyes nearly bugged out of his head upon hearing this news. He waved his arms around wildly as he asked,

"What?! Mother, why didn't you tell me this before now?"

Pearl shrugged her shoulders.

"It didn't seem important at the time. I was frozen for five hundred years. What's the big deal?"

Dr. Forrester groaned, holding out his hands to her.

"Mother, I am a scientist. I need to know what is going on with my test subjects. This change is blood chemistry could have an immense impact on my experiments. Frank, make a note in Nelson's file to keep an eye on even the slightest changes."

"Sure thing, Dr. F." Frank said in his usual cheerful manner, pulling up the file on Mike from the computer and typing in the notes.

"Maybe we should check your blood, Dr. Forrester. There could be a correlation in data." Brain Guy offered. Bobo seemed to like the idea as he was sorting a tray full of hypodermic needles with different colored liquids in them. He picked up a bright red one.

"I will be glad to offer my services! I was quite the blood-letter in my Study of Humans class at Chim-Chim U!"

Pearl was just walking past him when Bobo swung his arm and the needle plunged into Pearl's rear. Letting out a painful sheik, she swung to hit the ape, but was overtaken by the contents of the hypo and passed out into Bobo's arms.

"Good heavens ape, what have you done to Pearl?!" Observer cried out in shock, bringing Frank and Dr. F. from their work to her side.

"Get her on the table! What happened?" Dr. F. demanded as Bobo put the unconscious woman on the examination table.

"It was an accident, Dr. Forrester! I was checking these hypo like you said before I put them in the fridge. I guess I moved at the wrong time and stuck the Lawgiver." Bobo explained nervously.

"Just tell me what one you stuck her with!" Dr. Forrester demanded, but the ape was too scared to speak.

"Frank, check the tray and the inventory. See if you can figure this mess out." Dr. Forrester ordered as Pearl was starting to wake. He took her hand and held it tightly, speaking sweetly to her.

"Mother? Are you alright? It's your Clayton, dearest. How do you feel?"

"I feel...fine. In fact, I've never felt better in my life!" Pearl smiled as she quickly recovered.

"Uh oh...Dr. F. you're not gonna like this." Frank said as a warning.

"Just spit it out Frank!"

"Remember that love potion idea you were working on? The one that makes you love your most hated enemy?"

The color suddenly ran out of Dr. Forrester's face.

"No, no Frank...please say it's not that one?"

"Yup, Pearl got a butt cheek full of your Love Thine Enemy Number 9."

Bobo and Brain Guy were equally horrified.

"There is only one person Pearl truly hates in this world..." Brain Guy could not find the words to finish.

"Oh dear, oh, dear, oh dear..." Bobo muttered miserably.

Pearl sat up with a silly smile on her face.

"Where is my darling, sweet Mike? Mike Nelson, my only true love!"

"Oh, poopie!" Dr. Forrester cried out to the ceiling.

A bright and warm Sunday afternoon normal found the SOL family outside either working in the flowerbeds or strolling the neighborhood. Mike and Joel did their best to blend into the normal flow of life. 126 Maple Terrace Drive was a large lot at the end of the street. It was surrounded by trees in the back, though the ornate slate roof could be seen from nearly a half mile away. The bright purple paint job did little to ingratiate them to their neighbors. Their stoic, Midwestern neighbors were made up of middle age and older married couples with children and grandchildren. Two single young men and their bizarre machines just did not fit into life on Maple Terrace Drive and there were several neighbors who let them know that at every chance.

Today the tables were turned as many walked or drove by just to scoff and stare at the house. The televised news had been hurtful enough, but the newspapers added to the drama of the Friday night fiasco.

Crow and Tom had done their best to hide the papers from the humans, even Gypsy refused to let them see until they hotly demanded to see what was written. Neither man spoke as they read the accounts of their apparent misdeed. An editorial on their monstrous behavior added to their sorrows. Saturday afternoon had come with a barrage of phone calls and television trucks demanding statements from the pair. They heeded Mr. Hardgrave's advice by pulling the curtains, locking the doors and turning off the phones. Sunday morning was particularly hard for Gypsy as the head of Human Resources for ConGypsCo came over and demanded that Joel and Mike resign or be fired. The enraged robot stood her ground and in turn fired him.

By midafternoon, tensions had subsided and a calmness had returned to the house that would be short lived.

Joel was upstairs in the attic working on a project with Gypsy, Tom and Crow while Mike was stretched out on the living room couch with a book. The house was silent, except for the occasional loud bang coming from the attic. Mike worried a bit, seeing how his bathroom and study area were in the attic, connected to his bedroom by a short, enclosed walkway. It had been a very expensive addition, but Gypsy insisted as Mike was to enjoy being her charge and she loved to spoil him. Mike and Joel had talked of this and they came to the conclusion that the large robot felt guilt over her part in Mike's captivity and was doing what she thought was best to make up for it. Joel argued for Gypsy, telling Mike to let her have her way, it was worth anything to make her feel better.

Mike was just starting to doze off as he lost interest in the book when Cambot suddenly dropped from his ceiling perch and beeped and shook furiously.

"Cambot, what's up, little fella? What's got you so shook?" Mike inquired as the small robot zipped back up to the ceiling and went to the window and bounced up and down on his tether. Mike rose from the couch, tossing the book aside and peeked out between the drawn curtains.

"Oh please, haven't we been through enough this weekend?!" he groaned as he saw a garish green sports car pull up in front of the house, driven by Frank with Dr. Forrester in the passenger seat. Mike marched to the front door as Cambot zoomed on his track up the stairs heading for the attic.

Mike opened the heavy oak front door with the whimsical stained glass panels depicting the Satellite of Love and the things they loved about their time there.

"Mike, what a pleasure to see you, my boy!" Dr. Forrester smiled as he put a foot on the bottom step that lead to the porch. Mike put his right hand out and spoke in a stern tone.

"Not another step further, Dr. Forrester. I'm not in the mood for another drug induced, nightmare laden nap."

"Hey Mike!" Frank cheerfully said walking up to Dr. Forrester.

"Hello, Frank." Mike said coolly. He couldn't help but notice the tweed sports coats and ties the pair wore. He was accustomed to lab dress with them.

"Now, now Mike, couldn't we just sit on the porch like adults? I have some very important news for you." Dr. Forrester asked sweetly.

"You can say what you came here to say and leave."

Dr. Forrester raised an eyebrow at the normally mellow Nelson.

"My, aren't we Mr. Surely Britches today? I'm being honest when I tell you I had nothing to do with that. It was all mother's doing and I think she went at tad overboard."

It was Mike's turn to raise an eyebrow.

"A tad? You call Joel and me being arrested and nearly losing our jobs a tad? Why can't you just leave us alone? You have your life again, so please just crawl back to Deep 13 and leave us in peace?"

Dr. Forrester rocked back on his heels and smiled.

"Can't do that, Mike. You see, something happened in the lab and now Mother is madly in love with you."

"No Tom, you can't flip the train tracks upside down like that."

Joel was on the floor with the bots trying to show them how to set up an electric train set when Cambot flew through the open door and began tapping himself on the large picture window that looked out over the front of the house.

"Cambot, honey what's wrong?" Joel asked as he got to his feet and brushed the dust off his jeans. He went over and looked down to see Dr. Forrester and Frank standing in the walkway.

"Holy Hamdingers, its Dr. Forrester and Frank!"

The bots rushed to the window with Crow climbing up Gypsy's tubing to look out the window.

"Mike must be down there talking to them." Gypsy said with alarm.

"Well, at least this time he's not letting him in the house." Servo said with some relief.

"We've got to do something...and I think I know what!" Crow's voice went a pitch higher with the idea he was forming. "Servo, go down to my room and grab those balloons we have left over from Mike's party."

"Oh no, Crow you don't mean..." Joel said with trepidation.

"It's time to confound Gerry at every turn and that means a water balloon barrage!" Crow said in his terrible Winston Churchill voice. He looked at Joel with as much dignity as he could muster. "Are you with me, Captain Robinson?"

It was a long moment before Joel let a wicked smile cross his lips.

"Servo, get those balloons and bring them to Mike's bathroom. Gypsy, get ready to deliver. This time Dr. Forrester, it's personal!"

"Dr. Forrester, there is no way in hell I'm taking Pearl out on a date!"

"Now, Mike..." Dr. F began in his most clinical tone. Mike was pacing the porch like a caged animal.

"Why do these things keep happening to me?" Mike dropped down on the top step of the stairs "One lousy temp job has turned my whole life upside-down!"

Normally, Dr. Clayton Forrester would revel in any misery he caused his victims, but today he was on a mission to score a date for mother.

Frank stepped forward to talk to the distressed man.

"Aww, Mike it won't be so bad! Pearl is a great gal once you get to know her! Why, I've spent many hours in her company and found her to be a very engaging and fascinating woman."

Mike looked up from his concentrated study of the front steps.

"Then you go out with her, Frank."

"Mike, this whole thing was an accident. That love potion may wear off before your date." Frank offered a glimmer of home to the distressed man. Mike shook his head.

"Frank, you of all people know the staying power of Dr. Forrester's concoctions. This could go on indefinitely!"

Dr. Forrester's patience was wearing thin. He took a step back from the steps and pointed at Mike.

"Very well, Major Nelson, have it your way. Such a pity that poor Joel Robinson will have to pay for you refusal."

Mike jumped to his feet, fueled by the threat to his friend.

"This is between you and I, Dr. Forrester, leave Joel out of it." He snarled.

"Oh, but I can't," Dr. F said with delightful relish, "Joel was my pet project from day one. He's Daddy Forrester's favorite child, while you...well, you on the other hand always had this rebellious streak about you."

"I don't believe I'm having this conversation with you," Mike said with disbelief. "You're the one who cut me loose and sent me to the edge of the universe!"

"Yes, we must make an appointment to discuss that. Frank, take a note for Mike to see me on that. What happened to you out there? Five hundred years was it?"

"I, I can't remember much about it. Something is blocking my memory of much of it." Mike stammered with confusion.

"Are you sure you can handle the weight of that many balloons, Gypsy?" Joel asked as he pushed open the windows to the attic.

"Sure she can! With me riding shotgun it will be a direct hit!" Crow said jumping on the big robot and hanging on tight.

"Tom, buzz overhead and guide them to the target. I'm going downstairs to watch this up close!" Joel said with childish delight as he left his bots to do their work.

Servo flew out the window and positioned himself above where Frank and Dr. F stood.

"Few more feet...that's it. Crow, how are we looking?" Tom asked.

"Looking good...just a smidge to the right. Ok, we're locked on target. Joel should be there...just about...now! Let her rip, Gypsy!" Crow cried out as the large purple robot opened her mouth and let a barrage of colorful, water-filled balloons fall from the third story attic window onto the unsuspecting Dr. Forrester and Frank.

Joel made it in time to pull Mike back from the edge of the porch closer to the front door.

The bots cheered their victory heartily. At first Mike and Joel were stunned by the force and amount of water that was released. Dr. Forrester and Frank were soaked to the skin, colorful pieces of balloon plastic sticking to their skin and clothes. Frank lamented the loss of his TV's Frank coiffure while the mad scientist sputtered and coughed. Mike and Joel snickered at first, but it quickly turned into a loud, side splitting belly laugh as the bots joined them on the porch.

"I'd offer you both towels, but as hot as you both are, you'll probably steam dry by the time you get back to Deep 13!" Joel laughed as he leaned against Mike.

"NELSON! This is not the end of this, I promise you that!" Dr. Forrester hollered. He pointed a dripping finger at the young man, which made them both break out in a new fit of hysterics. "You'd better be at mother's penthouse tonight at six or what's going to happen to Jolene here will bring tears of grief to your eyes! Frank!"

The Mads stomped off, but the sound of their squishing shoes just brought another round of laughter from the SOL family as they watched the car roar off down the street.

"That was priceless!" Mike dropped down into one of the chairs on the porch.

"Yes, we do have fun, don't we," Joel sighed, sitting next to him. "What did Dr. Forrester mean by something happening to me?"

The question broke the levity of the moment and Mike became serious.

"It seems that thanks to another botched mess of Dr. F's Pearl is now madly in love with me and I have to have a date tonight or else you're gonna pay."

The trio of bots made their displeasure known by a series of gagging noises.

"You're not going, are you?" Joel asked. Mike looked at him with a piercing gaze.

"What choice do I have? I'm not going to let him hurt you again. I suppose I can gag down one dinner with Pearl. I'm willing to make the sacrifice for my buddy. If it keeps you out of Dr. Forrester's clutches, it will be worth it." Mike said with steel resolve, but feeling quite the opposite inside.

"You're a noble creature, Michael J. Nelson." Tom sighed.

"Just keep telling me that while I go pick out a suit for my execution." Mike moaned as he got up and entered the house.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Pearl had made everything perfect.

Perfect in Pearl's eyes at least.

She seemed to glow in the candlelight of the intimate table. No detail had been overlooked by her exacting demands. Only the finest linen, silver and dishes were to be used for this magical evening. The meal had been prepared by her personal chef and served by her personal staff. The evening was a great success in her eyes.

Mike Nelson's eyes were not as perfect.

From the moment he set foot in the luxurious penthouse above the casino, he felt as if he were walking into a trap. Having been the unwitting victim on more than one occasion, he knew the feeling as well as his own heartbeat.

He did his best to shake off the feeling of doom. Pearl was playing her part as the perfect hostess to a fault. His strategy for the evening was to let her take the lead and he would follow, ever so reluctantly. If he only knew the error of his strategy.

He glanced down at his watch.

7:30 p.m.

Crap!

An hour and a half and he was ready to go home.

"Mike, Mike honey? Didn't you hear what I just said?" Pearl asked sweetly, bringing her reluctant date back to the present situation.

"Oh, sorry Pearl. Sometimes I tend to wander." He half laughed.

"I love your honesty, it's one of your many, many perfect qualities."

"That's so sweet of you." He grinned, absently tugging at his favorite blue paisley silk tie.

"We should go shopping together! I love shopping and I'm sure you can use some new suits and things." Pearl hopefully offered.

Mike smiled again before taking a sip of coffee as the staff cleared the table and disappeared, leaving them totally alone. He was hoping for an early release from his date on good behavior.

"I'm pretty busy, what with the new library, working on the house, the bots..."

"You don't have to live with Joel and his tinker toys, you know." Pearl's voice was a purr that suddenly set off Mike's internal alarms. Pearly slowly rose from her chair and slowly crossed the room. She stopped in a doorway and gave her date a seductive glance.

"I'll be right back."

Rising from his chair, Mike made his way to the front door, but bound it locked with a keypad access.

"Do you know what I love most about you, Mike?" Pearl's melodious voice came from the hall.

"Haven't the slightest idea." He called back to her, but muttered to himself, "Considering you've hated everything about me all these years."

"Everything." She replied.

He moved swiftly over to the windows and looked out at the night sky that was just absorbing the last of the day. He tried to think of a quick escape plan, but unfortunately for him, escape was not his strongest suit. Dr. Forrester had admired the young man's pluck and courage, but what he had in copious amounts in those attributes, he lack in practicality.

"I think this is much better, don't you, darling?"

Mike turned around and gasped in shock to see Pearl had changed from the over the top bespangled red cocktail dress to a long, flowing black chiffon negligée that left little to the imagination. Trimmed with pale pink lace and marabou feathers, the ensemble was tacky at best.

"Wow, that's really, really...something Pearl. Really something." Mike said in a hoarse voice that was on the verge of a panic attack, but Pearl heard it as a come-on. She dropped down on the ultra-soft couch and picked up a remote from a nearby table.

The lights in the penthouse slowly dimmed and very soft, jazzy music came filled the space. Mike folded his hands and closed his eyes tightly in a mantra/prayer.

"Please don't let this be happening, please don't let this be happening..."

"Come here, you." She commanded throatily.

Mike opened his eyes and turned to face her.

"Well, Pearl, it's getting late, tomorrow is a work day for me."

"I've just cleared you schedule, hot stuff. Get over here."

Mike felt the bile of defeat rise in his throat as he slowly made his way to the couch and sat down on the far side. Pearl licked her lipstick laden lips and slid her way over to him. She reached up and began to loosen his tie.

"I never realized just how shy you are. You must be one of those men who's slow to start but once he gets going..."

"Pearl, please! I've got to get home. Joel is waiting up for me!" Mike's voice squeaked as she pulled his jacket off. She nibbled on his earlobe.

"Joel isn't your girl, I am and you're about to find out how much of your girl I am, lover!"

"Pearl...I'm really an old fashioned kinda guy." Mike squeaked as she kissed the base of his neck and unbuttoned his once pristine white shirt that now had Pearl's trademark red lipstick smeared on it.

"I'm never gonna hear the end of this." Mike moaned, thinking about the taunting to come once he made it home. Pearl had him pinned on the couch and was just touching the buckle of his belt when the front door opened and the lights blazed on.

"MOTHER!" Dr. Forrester cried out in shock as he, Frank, Brain Guy and Bobo entered the room.

"Oh Clayton, you ruined everything!" Pearl cried out as she sat up, freeing Mike. Grabbing his jacket and tie, he bolted for the door, but stopped and planted a grateful kiss on the scientist's lips.

"Dr. Forrester, this is the nicest thing you've ever done for me! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Mike's elated departure left the four men in utter confusion.

"He kissed me...Agggghhhh!"

It took a few moments for Dr. Forrester to compose himself and wipe his mouth repeatedly before getting to the bottom of the situation.

"Mother dear," he began slowly, but turned away from her and asked his cohorts to bring her a robe. Bobo brought a floor length green silk print robe and helped Pearl into, then stepped back and sat down on the couch opposite the one with Frank and Brain Guy.

"Mother, you can't have dinner with a man, then try to jump his bones like this, especially someone who has been my test case for so many years. He's been out of circulation, his dating skills are null and void. Dearest, he's not the man for you."

"But Clayton, I love him, and I know he must love me," Pearl pouted sadly. "He's just shy, that's all."

"Wasn't that shy with the Mamie Van Doren copy." Frank snickered. Dr. Forrester turned around and faced Frank.

"You're not helping, Frank." He growled, then turned back to Pearl and sat down next to her, taking her hands in his.

"Why did he run out like that?" she asked sadly

"Maybe he was just obeying the better angles of his nature, as your President Lincoln would say. He didn't want to take advantage of your love for him." Brain Guy offered. His suggestion was met with approval from the peanut gallery.

"Mike Nelson has always struck me to be a very shy, reserved fellow, a lot like Joel Robinson. Neither has the emotional maturity it takes to make a woman of quality like yourself happy. I know he's chock full of that boyish charm you like and he's a very pleasant looking fellow, but he's not for you. Try to forget him?" Dr. Forrester advised his mother.

"Wow, Pearl's really gone all Scarlett O'Hara." Frank muttered.

"With Mike being the unwitting Ashley Wilkes." Brain Guy replied.

"That was such a good movie, let's watch it again!" Bobo added, only to get disapproving looks for the pair.

Pearl sat quietly for a minute, then rose slowly to her feet with an announcement.

"I've made up my mind. I will marry Mike Nelson! Once we are married, he will realize how much he loves me!" Pearl's voice became melodramatic and filled with hope. "Clayton, you must make him realize this."

"Mother, I'd rather not become involved with such a tawdry..."

"Clayton...Deborah...Susan...Forrester, you **will **find a way to convince my sweet Michael that the only way he'll ever be happy is to marry me. Within the week, Clayton. Frank, I'm appointing you my personal wedding planner. We have so much to do!"

Pearl rose from the couch and left the room with Frank in hot pursuit. He was radiant with the opportunity to plan a wedding.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear...when the Lawgiver sets her mind to something there is no changing it." Bobo moaned. Brain Guy patted the gorilla on the back.

"I don't know who I should feel sorrier for, that poor sap Mike Nelson or us."

"Why couldn't I have been the daughter she wanted? I would have married, had children, she could have had grandchildren to spoil instead of spoiling my life! Now I'm going to have Mike Nelson as my step-father! Awwwww Poopie!" Dr. Forrester broke down into a tirade of tears.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Mike, please try to drink some tea?" Joel held the warm cup to his friend.

"No dice Joel, Mike's gone into one of his trances again, and this one is bad." Tom Servo noted as he hovered around the young man who was just sitting on the couch in the living room with a far away, vacant gaze. Crow sat on the opposite side of Mike from Joel.

"Have you tried biting him, Crow? That always snaps him out of it." Joel asked, putting the cup down on the coffee table.

"I've bitten him three times, Joel. I even tried the Student Prod, but nothing." Crow said sadly.

"I found his jacket and tie in the car. Did they drug him again?" Gypsy asked after she dropped the clothing items on the couch.

"No, but it looks like Pearl tried to maul him. Look at that lipstick." Tom pointed out to the others.

"Yeah, this shirt is ruined," Joel said pulling back his collar then pulling himself back with repulsion.

"What is it Joel? What's so horrible?" Gypsy asked, bending down to look.

"Pearl gave Mike a hickey, nasty looking one too. Yucky!" Joel said with a look of just biting into a lemon. Gypsy swung her long body about wildly.

"Let me at her! I'll tear her to pieces!"

Mike raised his right hand to his neck, touching the offending area. He slowly turned his head toward Joel. Blinking his eyes, his face crumbled into a pitiful expression of sorrow as he began to cry. Joel stretched out his arms and pulled the pathetic creature into his embrace.

"Mike, honey it's gonna be fine. Really! It's not that big and if you button up your collar, you can hardly see it."

After a few more moments of heavy sobbing, Mike pulled himself somewhat together and leaned back on the couch with his family in fascinated attendance.

"Geeze Mike, be a man and suck it up!" Crow scolded. Tom looked at his brother bot and voiced his dissatisfaction.

"Nice choice of words, Crow. Suck it up, geeze what a maroon you are!"

Mike got up and went to the large mirror in the entryway to look at the offending mark.

"Aww damn! Why didn't she just bite me?" Mike moaned as he made his way back to the couch and sat down dejectedly. "I don't even remember driving home. There she was, clawing at me like some monster then Dr. Forrester came in and I ran for the door...oh no!"

"Dare we ask?" Joel's voice was pure trepidation.

"I was so relieved that the door was open, I think I kissed him...oh yeah, I did." The remorse of Mike's confession did little to comfort the bots.

"I think I just lost what shred of respect I had for you." Crow did nothing to hide his disgust, turning his back on his former shipmate. Tom shook his head.

"You need therapy, plain and simple. All those years of skits of dressing up as a girl have caught up with you."

Mike took the cup of tea and sipped at it.

"You just panicked, Mike. It could happen to anyone of us." Gypsy snuggled her huge head on Mike's shoulder. Mike patted the side of her head thankfully.

Joel sat quietly as his bots expressed their opinions. When they finished, he reached over and grabbed the both of them and sat them down between him and Mike.

"I've never said this, and I hope I never have to say it again, but I'm ashamed of the both of you."

"Joel, don't..."

"Drink your tea, Mike." He ordered. Mike nursed the warm drink as Joel spoke.

"We've all had our moments in this house. We've bickered with each other and downright argued at times, but through it all we managed to smooth things over and respect each other. Mike made an error in judgment due to a very stressful situation, didn't we just have a talk about that this very afternoon?"

"Yes, Joel." The two bots said in unison.

"Now, let's think back to the time when I escaped the Satellite of Love. I watched the video years later and you guys weren't exactly acting within programming parameters as I recall."

"We were scared, Joel. We'd never been left alone before." Crow explained.

"We'd never met another human before." Tom added.

"That's right," Joel pulled the bots closer to him. "Now how do you think Mike felt tonight? Scared? You're darn right he was, I would have been too. Pearl Forrester locking him in like that, trying to take advantage of the situation. Now put that in perspective of how you felt when Mike arrived on the Satellite of Love."

The two bots thought for a moment, then nodded.

"I see your point! We were afraid of Mike and we overreacted by not untying him for quite a while." Tom recalled.

"So, when Mike kissed Dr. Forrester, he was panicked and was so happy and relieved to be getting out of there he just reacted the only way he could think of at the moment." Crow concluded. Joel nodded and smiled. Luckily, Mike had just put down the empty cup of tea as the two bots joined Gypsy in hugging him.

"We're sorry Mike!" they both cried out with remorse. Mike let out a sigh and hugged the two robots.

"Its ok guys, I think we've all had a rather bizarre weekend, and I'm glad this is the end of it. Tell you what, let's go have some ice cream, ok?"

The three bots cheered while Joel shook his head.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"Come on, Tom it's a nice day, let's hit the pool before they get home from work." Crow suggested as he entered the living room to find Tom Servo propped up on a pile of pillows watching a soap opera on the large screen TV.

"No Jenny, don't go with Trevor, he's bad news!" Tom pleaded to the pretty brunette on the screen. Crow sighed and picked up the remote to turn off the TV.

"Crow! It's almost over!"

"Servo, you know Joel doesn't want us watching that junk. He says it will rot our transponders." Crow advised, pushing the button on the table to return the TV back to its storage area. The small red robot turned to the gold one and sniffed,

"I think he makes that stuff up to scare us."

"Look, Joel said if we got our chores done we could go in the pool."

"Ok, I guess it wouldn't hurt to get some fresh air and sunshine, even though we don't breath or have solar panels, but I sure hope Jenny doesn't go out with that rat Trevor."

"Servo!"

The robot hopped off the couch and flew alongside Crow as they headed for the backyard.

"Why must we always obey Joel?" Tom wondered aloud as Crow pushed a button to open the sliding glass doors that led to the large deck and back yard. "Sometimes I get tired of the Joel says this and Joel says that, don't you?"

"Yeah, it's a drag at times, but hey, he programmed us. Not much we can do about it, except exercise the free will he did give us." Crow replied as he headed for the pool.

"And you know how much trouble that always lands us in." Tom chuckled as he flew over the pool and dove in. Crow put on a pair of sunglasses and hopped on his blowup seahorse and pushed out into the pool. Servo came up from the bottom of the pool and floated over to Crow.

"You know, Mike is so much easier to handle. He's such a push over."

"Yeah, we really gave him a hard time on the old Satellite of Love."

"Oh, oh, that time when we had that Devil Doll experiment and Mike fell asleep and you dressed him up as Hugo the dummy and put him in the cage?" Tom recalled with a laugh.

"Man, was he cheezed off! I was feeling particularly evil that day. Must have been that Pitch guy coming over."

"But you have to admit, Mike did get you with that Screaming Skull prank you pulled on him." Servo reminded. Crow leaned back and let the sun shimmer on his metal body.

"That was one joke that backfired in the worst way!" Crow complained. "Hey, but we did get Joel and a few occasions. Remember The Girl from Lover's Lane experiment?"

"Yes! The pinball machine, the alley mock-up. Too bad he wouldn't play along and we had to jump him like that." Tom bobbed along in the water like a buoy, laughing at the memories the two shared.

"That Sero-Crowation head transfer could have been great if we hadn't scared Joel like that." Crow lamented his lost chance to rule the world.

"We've got to hurry, Mike, Joel and Gypsy usually get home around five, and it's just after four now." Frank explained to Bobo as he parked the black van in the driveway of the house. Frank was especially frustrated with the gorilla for messing up the original plan to capture the bots.

"How many times must I apologize for pouring soda into Observer's brain pan? It was an accident!" the gorilla explained as he and the human got out of the van quietly. Frank gave him an exasperated look as he tossed a duffle bag to him.

"I've got enough to do what with helping Pearl with the wedding plans without being dragged away for the dirty work, now come on and let's get this done quickly."

Frank and Bobo silently made their way to the garage and opened the door and slipped inside and found their way to the kitchen and ducked down behind the kitchen island as it was visible from the pool area. The pair crept along to the living room and looked around.

"Nice digs." Frank approved. Bobo tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to the sliding glass doors. The pair made their way to the door and found the button that opened the door. The slid outside into the shade next to the house and walked towards the pool, holding their bags in back of them.

"Hi guys!" Frank smiled.

"Frank! Bobo! What, how did you get in?" the two bots cried out as they were getting out of the pool.

"The garage door wasn't locked. We happened to be in the neighborhood and thought we'd stop by to say hello." Bobo said with a smile.

"Servo, did you forget to arm the garage when they left for work?" Crow asked warily.

"Crap! I knew there was something I was supposed to do!" the red robot muttered. "What do you two want? I can't imagine it's anything good."

"We thought you might like to go out with us for some ice cream." Frank smiled, taking a step forward and flashing the duffle bag. "It's a super-secret ice cream installation, so you'll have to hide in these bags."

The two bots looked at each other and shook their heads.

"How stupid do you think we are?" Crow demanded.

"A little less than Bobo, but more than Mike and Joel." Frank replied.

"Crow, I think they're here to kidnap us so they can force Mike and Joel into some horrible alliance with them." Tom explained matter of factly.

"He's good!" Bobo admitted. Tom hovered at Crow's eye level and spoke quietly.

"What are we gonna do? We're trapped in our own yard?"

"Hit your internal alarm, Joel will get the message and come running."

"Nice try guys, but we've got an alarm blocker running in the van, so even if you set your alarms off, it will block your signal to Joel." Frank smiled, wiggling the bag in front of him.

"No way you know our frequency!" Tom challenged defiantly. Frank laughed.

"If you two had any idea how much data Dr. F has collected on you over the years, you'd really be running at this moment."

The brother bots looked at each other.

"RUN!" the both screamed and took off in opposite directions.

Servo headed up to a high maple tree, but Bobo was up for the challenge and followed the plucky red robot, swinging though the branches until Servo tried to fly between a fork in a limb and got his hover skirt caught. He was easy pickings for the ape who grabbed him while hanging onto a limb and found the little off switch and dropped him into the bag.

Frank wasn't as lucky with Crow. The lanky gold robot ran circles around the heavy set henchman. Crow tried to make it to the safety of the house, but despite tripping over lawn furniture and pool toys, he managed to pull out one of Dr. F's inventions, a net gun and with one shot had Crow tangled up in a net. Frank pounced next to the squirming robot and took a minute before he could find the shut off switch.

Bobo came along with his prize and Frank pointed to the house.

"Cambot too and hurry."

"Hey guys, we're home!" Joel called out as he entered the side kitchen door followed by Gypsy and Mike. The silence that greeted the trio was strange. The three bots would normally come racing over, glad they were all together again. There would be a barrage of Servo and Crow talking over each other while the guys would start dinner. This was not the case today.

"Tom? Where are you?" Mike called out, dropping the keys to the van on the kitchen table.

"Crow? Stop playing games!" Joel called out as the two humans looked about the house. In the center of the living room, Mike stopped cold in his tracks.

"Joel!" he called out urgently. Joel quickly came to his side along with Gypsy as Mike pointed to the ceiling where Cambot's track was. His tether line had been ripped violently from its connection.

"What could have done this?" Joel asked in a small voice, shocked by the sight of his carefully laid tracking destroyed.

"Not what, who." Mike growled. "I know a certain Mountain Gorilla that could have done this without breaking a sweat, and I bet he's got Tom and Crow too."

"Why Mike?" Gypsy asked miserably at the loss of her brothers.

The front doorbell rang, breaking the darkness. Mike went to answer the door and found a Fed Ex driver holding a box. Mike signed for it and closed the door.

"What now?" Joel asked dropping down on the couch, despondent over the loss of his bots.

"Don't know. It's addressed to both of us." Mike replied as he tore the box open to find a laptop computer. Neither of the men recalled ordering a computer. Mike put it down on the coffee table and sat next to Joel with Gypsy hovering between them behind the couch. Opening the computer, it sprang to life with a video.

"Good afternoon, Jolene and Major Nelson."

"Dr. Forrester!" Joel groaned.

"Now what?" Mike fumed.

"I'm sure you've noticed by now that your robots are missing from home. Well, don't worry, they're fine, for now. All you need do to get them back is to come back to Deep 13, oh say about six p.m. which means you'd better get moving if you want to get here in traffic. Come around the back like you did before and then we can sit and have a nice cozy chat. I would just have Brain Guy zap you here, but he's still recovering from an unfortunate soda accident, so get hopping, bunny boys, and leave Gypsy home, this doesn't concern her. See you soon!"

The screen when blank.

"I am not going to stay here while you two walk into another trap!" Gypsy cried out in protest. Both men turned to face her.

"I wouldn't bring you even if he demanded it. I'm not taking the chance of you getting hurt." Joel did little to alleviate her anger and fear.

"We need you to stay here and hold the fort down. Don't worry, Gyps, we'll bring the boys home." Mike smiled, despite the dread he was experiencing as he and Joel rose from the couch and headed out.

Walking down the badly lit hall that led to the Deep 13 lab, both Joel and Mike were on edge. They had discussed the several scenarios that might be the reason for this command performance. The only one they could agree on was that it must have something to do with the obsession that Pearl had for Mike which was the least favorable of the choices.

"Come in, come in! Make yourselves at home!" Dr. Forrester's cheerful voice greeted them as they entered the doorway to the lab. The inside of the lab was dark except for a couple of small lights on tables.

"Ok Dr. Forrester, what's the game for this evening?" Joel asked with a weary voice as the door was closed behind them. Dr. Forrester stepped between the two and put his arms around their shoulders as he guided them into the lab.

"Joel, Mike, why must you always insist on thinking the worst of me?"

"Dr. Forrester, neither of us are in the mood for games tonight, so just give us back our bots and we'll be gone." Mike said in a flat tone. Dr. F quickly spun around and put a hand up to halt Mike.

"Ah, but that's what tonight is about! Games! Well mostly a game of choices and the choices will be made by you, Mike and those choices will have grave ramifications if they are the wrong choices. Professor Bobo, if you would please make our dear Mr. Robinson comfortable, we shall begin."

Bobo came out from the shadows and forced Joel onto a plush couch where a spotlight shone brightly on him. Joel looked over his shoulder, trying to shield his eyes.

"I don't appreciate you coming into my house and tearing up Cambot's tracking like that and taking my bots!"

Bobo uncharacteristically cuffed Joel across the back of the head. Mike took an angry step forward, only to be grabbed by Dr. Forrester and held back.

"Professor Bobo, I'm shocked! Joel is our guest! Please refrain from any more physical outbursts like that."

"My apologies, Dr. Forrester. I just don't like when lower life forms criticize my work."

"Joel?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." The inventor said, rubbing the back of his head.

"Now, let's get started!" Dr. Forrester clapped his hands together as another spotlight beamed down on the two men. "Now Mike, I really did not want to get involved with this sordid affair, but Mother is a very insistent woman. She is madly in love with you and has decided that you are to marry her."

"WHAT!?" both Mike and Joel cried out in horror at the revelation.

"I know, it can be unsettling to confirmed bachelors like us, but there it is," Dr. Forrester explained to Mike, putting an arm around his shoulder. "I'm not thrilled with the prospect of calling you daddy either, but Mother must be obeyed, so why don't we make it an easy transition and you just say yes."

Mike pulled away from the mad man, gazing at him as if he were some strange creature from outer space, which he was well versed in.

"No. No, no, no! There is no way in hell I'm going to marry Pearl Forrester."

"Well, I was afraid of this. Now we must move on to the game show portion of our evening. Frank, the floor is yours."

A spotlight came on as the multi colored lights danced about the lab. Frank came out from the darkness decked out in a suit of all black with a matching tie. The jacket was studded with dark rhinestones that made the henchman glow. Brain Guy was barely visible in the shadows operating a video camera.

"Thank you Clay. Welcome to the exciting new game show, It's Your Choice where the choice our unlucky contestant makes brings tragedy!" Frank's voice was bright and happy as he walked over to Mike. "I'm your host, TV's Frank and our unlucky contestant tonight is none other than the second of the Satellite of Love's captives, Michael J. Nelson. Mike is from Somerset, Wisconsin, pretty much a rube, but can surprise when in the clinch. How are you feeling tonight, Mike?"

Mike shot the toady a look would scare most henchmen, but Frank was in his element as he laughed and put a hand on Mike's shoulder.

"Frank, I've always liked you, despite you working for Dr. Forrester, but right now, I could kill you."

"Enough chit chat, let's move on to the game!" Frank smiled. "Mike, I want you to take a look back here to our Wheel of Robots!"

A blinding spotlight lit up the center of the lab to reveal an upright spinning wheel much like the Wheel of Fortune games in casinos. Strapped to the wheel in equal distances were Crow, Servo and Cambot still powered down. Dr. Forrester stepped forward, now wearing a green glittering lab coat to match the tacky game show theme and pressed a button on a small remote he held. The three bots came back to life crying out for help.

Joel leapt to his feet, but was pushed back down into the chair by Bobo.

"Mr. Robinson, I must insist you stay seated during the show or I will be forced to sedate you and you'll miss all the fun." Bobo produced a full hypodermic with a deep blue liquid inside. The inventor reluctantly slumped back onto the couch.

Mike was free to move about and went to the wheel to try to calm the bots down.

"Shhhhhh, calm down, calm down. Joel and I are here, we'll get you out of this. Tom, be a big boy now and stop crying, you too Crow. Settle down, Cambot."

"I want my Daddy!" Crow whimpered.

"I'm here, Crow." Joel's calm voice replied. "Tommy, you do as Mike says and Cambot you're a big boy too. I love you all very much."

"That is **so** sweet! Such a lovely sentiment, but we must get back to our game." Frank said into the camera, then turned to face the wheel with Mike.

"The game is very simple, Mike. You've already lost your first turn of the wheel when you refused just now to marry the lovely Pearl Forrester, so it's Dr. Forrester's turn to spin the wheel and see who our unlucky robot player will be!" Dr. Forrester stepped forward into the light, rubbing his hands together.

"This is going to be such fun!" he gloated as he grabbed one of the sprockets on the side of the wheel and gave it a pull. The wheel spun very quickly, much quicker than the mad scientist could have done with his pull. The three bots cried out in fear. Mike and Joel both felt their stomachs spinning until the wheel finally came to a stop.

It stopped on Crow's spot.

"Well Mike, it looks like Crow T. Robot will pay the penalty for your refusal to marry the lovely Pearl Forrester!" Frank announced in a cheesy, robust voice that made both Mike and Joel growl under their breaths. "Brain Guy, if you would assist us?"

Crow suddenly disappeared from the wheel and reappeared across the room. He was bound and gagged and tied to a log that was on a conveyer belt heading for a buzz saw.

"How original." Mike said flatly.

"I know, it's melodramatic, but it fits with our theme of Deep Hurting." Dr. Forrester smiled.

"Crow..." Joel's voice was barely audible as Bobo had both hands on his shoulders to keep him from moving. Tom and Cambot were making as much noise as they could in their distress.

"You can't cut him, he's built of

Molybdenum. A wood cutting blade won't work." Mike challenged. Dr. Forrester sneered at him.

"But a diamond blade will and that's what we have."

Mike bolted across the room and grabbed Dr. Forrester by the front of his lab coat.

"Let him go." He commanded in a dark voice.

"Nope! You play, you pay, Nelson."

The helpless robot was creeping closer to the blade. Mike let go of Forrester and tried to make a move to rescue the bot, but found he was unable to move from the spot he was in. He could only watch as the blade sparked when it hit Crow's netting and sliced down the robot's body. Dr. Forrester trotted over and picked up the two halves of the robot. Crossing the room, he flung them at Joel's feet. The young man felt the gorilla's grip loosen and he slid down on his knees, cradling the broken bot in his arms, he head bowed. Mike felt the grip of Brain Guys' power leave him and he went to Joel and quietly knelt next to him.

"Let Rome have Michelangelo's Pieta, I have my very own, right here. The talented and resourceful Joel Robinson on his knees before me." Dr. Forrester's voice was filled with deep satisfaction.

"If I..." Mike said softly, choking back tears.

"He wasn't bad, he didn't deserve this," Joel looked up at Dr. Forrester, his face a mask of disbelief and agony. "I did everything you asked, watched every damn movie. Why do you hate me so much?"

Closing his eyes, Mike shook his head as he pulled his friend close to him to shield Dr. Forrester from seeing him cry.

"You've been a thorn in my side for many years, little boy. How many times I cried in frustration as you flaunted your talent about. Well, it's your turn to cry over a broken invention." Dr. F's word were harsh and cold. He then turned his attention to Mike.

"So Mike, shall we play another round and see which of your precious bots gets hacked to pieces next?" the mad man's eyes filled with anticipation as the two remaining robots cried out as best they could.

Mike took a deep breath and slowly rose to his feet. A cloak of defeat weighed him down as his shoulders slumped. Joel looked up and grabbed Mike's right hand.

"Don't do this, Mike. It's not fair."

"I can't let Servo and Cambot be hurt, he'll go after Gypsy next," Mike smiled bitterly, "besides, you saved my life all those years ago and now it's time to pay that debt."

Mike stepped forward and as he did he felt Joel's hand slip from his and he felt the life he had known slip away also. He stood before the triumphant Forrester only to drop to his knees before him.

"You win, Dr. Forrester. I can't fight you. Yes, I'll marry Pearl, but on condition that you leave Joel and the bots alone. Never, ever go near them."

"Dr. Forrester wins!" Frank said joyfully to the camera. Dr. F, Mike, and Joel all shouted in unison.

"Oh, shut up Frank!"

Dr. Forrester motioned for Mike to get to his feet. He rummaged around in the pockets of his lab coat until he found a blue box and handed it to Mike who opened it to find a ring cluttered with diamonds surrounding one large on in the center.

"I know, it's a bit over the top, but Mother picked it out herself." Dr. F rolled his eyes as he escorted Mike to the center of the lab. All the spotlights died except for where Mike was. "Mother dear, Mike Nelson is here and he has something very important to say to you."

Pearl bounced out from the shadows wearing a frilly pink lace dress that was far too cute for a woman whose spaceship was dubbed, "The Widowmaker". She wiggled with girlish anticipation as Mike swallowed the last of his pride and went down on one knee before her. He opened the ring box and held it up to her and asked in a shaky voice,

"Pearl? Will you marry me?"

The older woman snatched the ring from his hand.

"Oh Mike! I knew you would come to your senses! Yes, yes you darling sweet man!" Pearl seemed more obsessed with the ring at the moment as Mike got to his feet. A skeptical Frank gave Mike a long glance.

"How do we know you'll keep your promise?"

Mike's emotional barometer shifted suddenly from low to high. He took Pearl into his arms and kissed her deeply. He let her go and wiped the gaudy red lipstick from his lips as Pearl was stunned into silence. He walked away as Dr. Forrester called out,

"The wedding is set for Friday evening at seven. We'll send a car to pick you up."

"Oh no! He's got to stay with me! You can't leave me like this, Mike!" Pearl begged, running after him and grabbing his arm. He looked down at her, the passion of a few moments ago was gone, replaced by the dark, cold blue of his eyes when angry.

"I have four days Pearl. Let me have them. Brain Guy, my bots please?"

Mike's arms were full with Cambot and Tom Servo, both shuttering in fear. He walked over to Joel as he slowly rose on shaky legs.

"Let's go home."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Upon leaving Deep 13, Joel insisted that Mike take him to ConGypsCo so that he could begin the repairs on Crow. Mike only agreed on condition that Cambot and Servo stay to assist him. Mike sat in the SUV alone until he saw the light go on in Joel's lab then he started for home.

When he entered the house, Gypsy was waiting, but remained silent until the human dropped into a chair in the living room. She listened quietly as he re-lived the horrors of the evening. At the end of his tale, the large robot cuddled around the chair Mike sat in, snuggling her head against his chest.

"I'm so sorry Mike. I don't want you to do this. You can't do it, it's not fair."

"Life stopped being fair to me the day I took that temp job at Deep 13."

"Joel will stop this wedding. He won't let you do this."

Mike let out a long breath and shook his head as he patted the robot.

"Joel's gotta fix Crow, that's priority one and by the time he does that I'll be in that she-devil's clutches for good, or until she comes to her senses and kills me."

"Joel won't let you down, that much I'm certain of. Now, why don't you go to your room and lie down? I'll bring you something to eat later." Gypsy instructed, uncoiling herself from Mike. He obediently got up and went to the grand staircase, but turned to look at the bot.

"I can't imagine leaving here. I don't want to leave."

Sadly, he made his way up the staircase, but not before he heard the purple robot sobbing softly. He walked down the long hallway to the spiral staircase that led to his room in the turret. He opened the door and looked about the small, round room. His memory raced back to the day when he moved in and Gypsy and Joel showed him the room for the first time.

She had picked all the furniture herself, scouring antique stores and auction sites to find just the right pieces. The round blue Oriental rug, the silk shantung drapes, the perfect shade of blue for the walls, the silk and velvet bedspread. No expense had been spared for her ward.

Kicking off his shoes, Mike dropped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. Nothing made Gypsy happier than spoiling her two humans. A warm breeze blew in from the open windows along with the distant sound of children playing in the late day sun. The buzz of the sound lulled Mike into an exhausted sleep.

Daylight danced on Mike's eyelids until he rolled over with a groan and opened his eyes. The clock on the bed stand said 9:45 a.m. He swore under his breath as he jumped out of bed and headed for the shower.

Coming down the staircase, he heard Gypsy's upset voice coming from the kitchen. He flew down the stairs to find her arguing into the computer monitor Joel had set up for her to take calls. Frank was on the other end.

"Gypsy, I need to go over some details of the wedding with Mike, please?" Frank pleaded.

"There is no way you are coming into this house, Frank!

Mike stood next to the large robot and patted the side of her head, trying to sooth her anxiety.

"It's ok, Gyps, its ok. I'll take care of this. Frank, what is it you want?"

"Ah, Mike! I need to pick you up to go get your tux and some more details for the wedding Friday."

"Fine, Frank, fine. You can pick me up here, but wait in the car."

"I'm not letting you go out with that monster, after what happened to Crow!" Gypsy cried out.

"I've got to do this, for Crow's sake as well as for all of you," Mike softly said to her.

"Then I'll see you in an hour!" Frank merrily said as he ended the call. Mike turned and leaned against the granite counter.

"Has Joel called?"

"No. I've tried several times, but he's not answering his cell or office phone."

"I'm not surprised. When Joel gets on a project it consumes him." Mike thoughtfully noted. "If you don't hear from him by the time I get back, we'll swing by and see what's going on."

Gypsy snuggled close to Mike.

"Mike, I'm so worried about Crow. What if Joel can't fix him?"

Mike laughed lightly.

"I have yet to see the thing that Joel Robinson cannot dream up, construct, or fix."

ConGypsCo was closed for the day when Gypsy and Mike arrived. Just to be away from the ever fussing Frank was relief in itself. The pair made their way up to the lab floor and found the only lights on be in Joel's lab. The red light was on above the door which meant for people to keep out, but it was ignored by the pair as they opened the door and slipped inside unnoticed.

Crow was laid out on Joel's workbench with pins and clamps holding him together. Cambot was on a shelf above, filming the procedure while Tom was attached to a laptop that was showing what Cambot saw.

"Fuse Center Cerebral cortex to primary output." Tom instructed as Joel did what the robot told him.

"Done. Next." Joel said in a robotic voice.

"Joel, it's time to stop." Gypsy said softly. He looked up and pushed back his magnifying glasses.

"Please, don't disturb me, his brain is almost online."

Both Gypsy and Mike were alarmed at how haggard and worn out the inventor was.

"Servo, how long have you been at this?" Mike demanded.

"Since you dropped us off last night. Mike, I'm so tired." The red robot sighed.

"Joel, it's time for a break." Mike suggested as he reached out to put a hand on his friend's shoulder, but found the act refused as Joel shrugged him away.

"I can't stop, Mike. I've got to get him back together." The mixture of urgency and exhaustion in the inventor's voice worried Gypsy and Mike, who reached over to Joel and took the tools from his hands which were trembling slightly.

"Damn Joel, you're a train wreck! You've got to take a break. Look, I brought you a change of clothes and dinner. Go downstairs to the gym, take a shower, have dinner and lie down for a nap. This can wait."

Joel turned around in his chair to face Mike. The circles under his eyes added to the drained but determined look that now smoldered with anger as he spoke bitterly.

"This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't brought Pearl Forrester into my life. What do you know about the bots? You know nothing of their workings. I'm surprised they've lasted as long as they have living with you!"

"Joel, that's not a fair assumption to make." Gypsy counseled, only to have Joel shoot her a dark look and point to her. Mike felt a spark of anger growing inside, but kept his voice calm.

"I did the best I could. I'm sorry about Pearl and Dr. Forrester, but that's not my fault."

"If it wasn't for her, Crow wouldn't be lying here in pieces now! Maybe things will be better if you marry her and get out of our lives!"

An audible gasp came from Gypsy and Tom, a faint squeak from Cambot. Mike was taken aback by the brutality of Joel's words and tone as they tore through his mind and heart. Mike quickly, but quietly left the lab.

"Joel Robinson, I have never heard you speak to anyone like that, especially Mike!" Gypsy said in an angry tone. The inventor looked at her as if she were mad.

"Why are you sticking up for him? We had a fine, quiet, happy life until he came and brought the wrath of the Forrester's on us!" Joel spat out, pointing to the purple robot who refused to back down.

"They would have come whether or not Mike was with us. At least as a family we are united in our cause!" Gypsy cried out, then took a few moments to regain her calm. "I love you, Joel because you gave me life and I love Mike because he gave me a feeling of belonging. Joel, you're tired and angry and I don't blame you one bit for it, but you're taking it out on the one person who is suffering just as much as you."

"Do you really want him to marry Pearl Forrester, Joel? I don't think so." Tom Servo added ever so quietly that his words hung heavy in the air.

"Don't...Mike...not...fault." came Crow's stilted and faint voice.

"Crow..." Joel quietly said, turning back to the bot on the table. He picked up his tools and quickly made several adjustments.

"Whoa, Momma! Let's not play that game again!" Crow chirped as he looked around. "Hey Gyps! Cambot buddy! Servo, mi amigo! Joel!"

"It's gonna be ok, honey. You're gonna be fine. The worst is over." Joel leaned over the bot and kissed the top of his head.

"Where's Mike? Please, don't let him marry Pearl! The Forrester's are not who I want for in-laws." Crow asked urgently. Joel closed his blood-shot blue eyes for a moment.

"He stepped out for a moment. I'll go get him." Joel patted Crow on the shoulder plate and stepped out of the lab.

"Ok, what did I miss now?" Crow demanded.

Mike was sitting on the floor halfway down the hallway, his back against the cool wall as Joel walked up to him and joined him on the floor. The two stayed silent for several minutes, neither could think of words to start a conversation until Mike broke the quiet.

"What's it been, seven years now I've known you and you've never spoken to me like that? It's a real eye-opener."

"I can't possibly apologize for what I said back there. You know I didn't mean it." Joel said meekly, turning his gaze to Mike who returned the look.

"Joel, that's the first time you really cut me. I'm being honest here. What you said really hurts. Do you really feel that way? Have the last four years living together been a big lie?"

"Geeze Mike, you're making us sound like we're married." Joel said uncomfortably. Mike couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, we are the proud parents of some very special kids."

"Oh, they're special alright, in a short bus kinda way." Joel snickered. Mike couldn't help but laugh.

"Remember the time when we first moved in and you tried to enroll Tom and Crow in daycare?" Mike chuckled. Joel groaned at the memory.

"There they were out in front of the school with their "Hell no, we won't go!" signs. They nearly started a riot!"

"The first time we made the six o'clock news." Mike fondly recalled. "That was a very generous donation you made to keep them from suing us."

"Yes, we've had some good times. Mike, I'm so sorry for what I said back in the lab..."

"House Rule number 10: You don't have to apologize for things you can't control."

Joel sighed, letting his head drop on Mike's broad shoulder.

"You know, when this is over and we're all safe again, I think I am going to get so stinking drunk, starting with that nice champagne we got as a housewarming gift and work my way up to the twelve year old scotch."

"I won't argue with that, in fact I think I'll join you for that party because you are a miserable sot when you've been drinking alone." Mike said getting up and pulling Joel to his feet.

"How do you know?"

"None of your bees wax. Now come back to the lab, grab the bag I brought and hit the showers. No offence pal, but you need it."

When Joel returned, he had on fresh clothes and a brighter outlook on things despite the exhaustion but smiled when he recognized the aroma coming from his office area.

"Silver Dragon? You two went all the way across town to get me my favorite Chinese food? I don't deserve you guys."

"No, you don't, but we're here, so dig in." Mike acknowledged as he dug a thermos out of another bag. "I'm gonna rinse some cups out, dig in guys."

Mike went over to the utility sink with the mismatched cups and turned on the faucet. Gypsy followed him on the pretense of helping.

"Mike, what are you up to?" she asked.

"Nothing." He replied sweetly as he pulled a small gold colored pill box from the front pocket of his jeans and dumped the contents into one of the cups. He then filled the two cups with the cold milk from the thermos that he'd tucked under his arm. Gypsy dropped her lower jaw to speak, but Mike quickly put a hand to her mouth.

"He's not going to sleep unless I give him this. It's just the stuff I use when I can't sleep well. While he's napping, you and I can do what we can to finish Crow."

"Slipping your best friend a Mickey, that's not right." Gypsy replied in a low whisper.

"Letting him work himself sick is worse." Mike counseled as Joel called over to them.

"What are you two doing over there?"

"Nothing!" they replied in unison as they joined the others.

"Doesn't seem fair to have Chinese without Crow." Tom noted as he looked across the room to where his brother lay. Joel had shut him and Cambot down for a rest period, but refused to shut himself or Tom down. As dinner wore on, Mike took note that Joel's eyes seemed droopier than normal.

"Wow, that was great, I feel like I can go another 24 hours," Joel stifled a yawn as Mike fed Servo. "But I think I'll just sit on the couch for a bit." The young man was a bit unsteady on his feet as he plopped down on the couch, only to nearly slide off it. Mike quickly got up and pushed him back up as Joel snuggled down and stretched out his lanky frame. Joel snuggled against a worn tapestry pillow, then pointed up at Mike.

"Hey, you slipped something in the milk, didn't you?"

"As our good buddy Tor Johnson would say, 'Time for go to bed'."

"Got...too much...work."

"Come on Tommy, you too." Mike ordered. Servo flew over and snuggled down next to his creator who was just falling asleep. Grabbing Cabot off the table, Mike tucked him in and tossed the hand woven Native American blanket over them.

"Thank you, Mike." Tom said before he shut down. Gypsy swung her big head around to look at Mike.

"I was right. Mike is a very nice name for a very nice person."

"Let's get to work." Mike replied.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Between Joel and Mike, they managed to get Crow back to working order quickly. It was a joyous reunion at the purple Victorian home that was short lived.

"Yes Frank...just tell me where and I'll meet you there...no, I'll be there, I promise...uh huh, ok. I'll see you then. Bye Frank."

Mike turned off his cell phone, but not before punching in the information he'd just gotten from Frank. It was late Thursday night. In less than 24 hours he would be married to Pearl.

He sat on the edge of his bed and looked around the room that was lit only by the moonlight. His heart was heavy as he nudged the gym bag next to his feet that held a few of his favorite clothes and items. Pearl was arranging an extensive honeymoon in Europe and planned on fitting him out with a whole new wardrobe. His mind raced back to an evening not long after he and the bots had moved in when they all sat around and planned a trip to Europe after Mike finished school.

He reached over and picked up his laptop from the bed and opened it to compose a letter to his family.

_Dear Joel, Tom, Crow, Gypsy, Cambot:_

_I know I've taken the coward's way out, but I just couldn't face saying good-bye to you._

_By the time you read this, I'll be somewhere in hiding waiting to go to the church...imagine a bunch as evil as the Forrester's in a church? I hope the roof doesn't fall in on me!_

_Cambot: Keep an eye on everyone for me. You're such a talented little guy!_

_Servo: Please pick up your room and keep it clean._

_Crow: Stop making Servo's room such a mess._

_Gypsy: Thank you for everything. Give my love to Magic Voice, where ever she is._

_Joel: Stay strong, Daddy-O._

_I love you all so much. As far as I'm concerned, my life is over without you all in it, but I will keep my promise to Pearl._

_May the Universe keep you all in her loving and eternal care,_

_Mike_

_P.S. Oh, in case you might want to put together a rescue party, I was able to squeeze the info out of Frank. The wedding is taking place at the Chapel of the Pines, 287 Pine St in Apple Valley. 7:00 p.m. I know you're not invited, but consider this my invitation to be the wedding crashers...PLEASE?!_

Joel blocked out the sound of early summer coming in the windows as he read and re-read the message on Mike's laptop while the bots huddled around him on the bed.

"He promised he'd say good-bye." Tom Servo lamented, leaning against Crow, who sniffled.

"We've got to do something, Joel. We can't let him do this."

Joel closed the computer and put it on the nightstand.

"We're not going to let this happen. We're going to get Mike back."

"It's going to be a tough fight. Brain Guy can do most anything." Gypsy noted as Joel got up and turned to face his little family.

"Yeah, Mike said he's pretty powerful, but so is the SOL family once we put our minds to something. Crow, you and Tom pull up maps of the Apple Valley area, Gypsy, you and Cambot check the house for anything we could use as weapons and we'll meet in the dining room in an hour. Operation Save Major Nelson is a go."

Mike sat in a small anti-room of the chapel alone, gazing out the stained glass window of lilies. Even through the thick colored glass, he could see the sun setting and feel his freedom fleeting with it. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn't hear the door to the room open.

"Mike...Mike? It's nearly time."

"Huh? Oh, Brain Guy, sorry I was lost in thought."

The pale alien smiled. Despite all their past encounters, he had a soft spot for the pink human.

"It won't be so bad, Mike! Pearl is a very wealthy woman and will take fine care of you!"

Mike sighed, holding up his hands to show the handcuffs and pointed to the ball and chain attached to his right ankle.

"Oh sure, this is how they take care of people in Sing-Sing. It really doesn't say, 'I love you, Mike', if you get my drift."

Brain Guy tried to change the subject.

"I must say you do look handsome. White dinner jacket, black tux slacks and a pink carnation. Very retro, but it suits you."

"You splurged on new robes, I see. Very nice." Mike returned the compliment. "C'mon Brain Guy, isn't there anything you can do to snap Pearl out of this nightmare?" Brain Guy sighed and shook his hooded head.

"Mike, I've tried everything I can think of. Dr. Forrester has pleaded with me to stop this wedding, but there are some things even we Observers are powerless to control. My advice to you is just close your eyes and think of the safety you've bought your little family with this sacrifice."

Just then, Bobo came bouncing in the room wearing a black tux.

"Time to get this show on the road!

The gorilla produced a key from a pocket and bent down and unlocked the ball and chain from Mike's ankle. Mike held up his hands with a weak smile.

"Sorry champ, handcuffs stay on until after the wedding. Dr. Forrester's orders."

Frank entered the room, clapping his hands.

"People, people! Let's get going! It's magic time!" Frank was singing happily as he stepped out of the room. Mike rose from his chair and looked at Bobo and Brain Guy.

"First thing I'm going to do when these cuffs come off is deck Frank."

"I shall come to your defense on that." Brain Guy nodded.

"Me too, that guy is nuttier than last year's fruit cake!" Bobo agreed as they left the room.

Mike walked with his escorts down a short hall and then into the chapel itself. The room was festooned with flowers which made the air heavy with scent. He noticed also there were no guests at this wedding. The only ones there were the Forrester clan.

Frank scurried over and grabbed Mike by the arm.

"Over here, Mike." Frank positioned the groom to the right of the altar where a heavily robed figure stood. Mike looked puzzled at the sight of the officiating person as he could not see the face from under the heavy robes. Mike kept glancing down at his watch. It was just about seven and no sign of Joel.

He began to perspire as the sound of organ music filled the room and made him jump slightly. He wanted to run, but with Frank standing in as Best Man and Bobo and Brain Guy seated in the pew directly behind him, he had nowhere to run to.

The wedding march played. Mike closed his eyes and refused to look as Dr. Forrester in a well-fitted tux walked his mother down the aisle. The mother and son were halfway down the aisle when Pearl stopped and seemed to lose her footing. Dr. Forrester stopped and talked to her, but she insisted in pushing forward. Pearl's dress was a ball gown of white that was trimmed with lace and crystals that did nothing to enhance her figure except that her dress was very low cut and being cinched into the dress, her breasts were nigh on to popping out of the dress. When she finally stood next to Mike and he opened his eyes that was the first thing he saw. He felt his knees weaken and buckle but Frank managed to steady the reluctant groom.

The minister started the 'dearly beloved' in a low voice. When he asked who was giving the bride away, Dr. Forrester stepped forward.

"I do, her son Clayton Forrester." He kissed her on the cheek and shrugged his shoulders to Mike who moaned.

The moment came for anyone who had reason to object to the union...where the hell was Joel?

The rest of the ceremony was a blur to Mike as he robotically repeated vows he didn't want, exchanged rings he didn't desire and was finally pronounced husband and wife. As Pearl leaned forward for her marital kiss, she dropped the oversized bouquet of flowers. Her eyes rolling upward as she tumbled to the floor. The Forrester clan all huddled around Pearl, leaving Mike and the minister to just stand by.

"Mother? Mother, are you alright? Nelson, what did you do to her?" Dr. Forrester demanded.

"I didn't do anything!"

Frank found an ammonia ampule in his tux pocket and snapped it open. He waved it under Pearl's nose and it quickly brought her around.

"Good thinking, Frank. Tell me, why would you carry an ammonia ampule to a wedding?" Brain Guy asked as they all helped Pear to her feet.

"I figured if anyone was going to pass out, it would be Mike. Guess I was wrong."

"What happened? Where am I?" Pearl asked as she shook off the lightheadedness.

"We're at the chapel, dearest. You just married Mike Nelson, remember?" Dr. Forrester sweetly informed his mother. Pearl's eyes widened as she pushed everyone away and gazed upon Mike with disgust before her shrewish voice filled the chapel.

"I just what?! I despise that mousey, goofy, goody-two-shoes! What in hell has been happening, Clayton?" Dr. Forrester explained the events of the past week to his mother, but it only fired up her rage.

"You could always get an annulment." Brain Guy offered. Pearl looked as if she wanted to punch the pasty alien.

"What? Ruin a perfect track record of 13 husbands gone to their reward at my hands? What's one less man in the world going to matter," she said darkly as she grabbed the lapels of Mike's white sports coat. "I think I'm going to enjoy killing dear, sweet Mike here more than all the others put together."

At that same moment, the doors to the chapel were slammed open and there stood Joel in his bright red jumpsuit along with Gypsy, Tom and Crow all dressed up like commandos.

"Let him go, you bitch!" Gypsy screamed.

"You're late." Mike complained, holding up his hands to show the handcuffs.

"We got detoured due to an accident. Tanker full of chocolate milk!" Crow announced.

"What a time to be without a straw." Tom lamented. The team marched up the aisle, their weapons at the ready which consisted of squirt guns that shot silly string, various kitchen utensils fashioned into oversized and unwieldy throwing stars and a bazooka looking contraption that Joel whipped from his back and pointed at the Forrester party with a determined glare in his eyes.

"Married or not, Mike's coming home with us." Joel informed the bad guys. Mike gingerly pulled himself out of Pearl's clutches and went to stand with his family.

"Sorry Pearl, can't argue with a man with a bazooka." Mike said lightly.

The room became tense as the two factions were gearing up for a confrontation when the minister spoke.

"Well, in fact there is nothing to fight about since no marriage actually took place."

Everyone in the room turned to him and let out a group 'Huh?'

The minister coughed and threw back the hood of the robe.

"Dr. Erhardt!" everyone cried out, except for Pear, Bobo, Brain Guy, Frank and Mike.

"Larry!" Dr. Forrester was especially pleased to see his old colleague, holding out his arms. Larry shrugged the heavy robe off and went to give his old partner a hug.

"Clay! It's so good to see you again!" Larry's voice squeaked in its normal tone. "Well, I see Joel and the bots made it back safe and sound, I guess that's a good thing. I've been keeping track of you, Clay."

"But what happened to you, Dr. Erhardt? You just vanished." Joel asked, dropping his weapon to his side.

"Thank you for asking, Joel! That's a long story, but the gist of it is that I fell into a vortex while on my back to Deep 13 while running an errand for Clay. I've spent the past years traveling through time and other dimensions. Met some real characters along the way and eventually found my way back here. When I heard that Mrs. Forrester was going to marry one of Clay's experiments, I just had to drop by but when I found out who she was marrying...I could not let this lovely woman throw herself away on that swine!" Larry pointed to Mike who brushed off the insult.

"I've been called worse by bigger guys than you."

The bots hooted their approval.

"Well, it's wonderful to have you back, Larry," Dr. Forrester said happily, "will you join me again in my quest to rule the world? I'm planning to ship both of these morons back into space."

"Gee Clay, I'd love to, but my molecular structure has changed and I'm not stable for more than 48 hours in one location...oops! It's starting again. It was nice to meet you all and hopefully I can drop back again soooooooonnnnnn!"

Dr. Larry Erhardt disappeared in a snap of light. Everyone was silent for a couple of minutes until Pearl broke the silence.

"Well, you don't need a ceremony to be married, all you need is the signed license!"

"No way, Pearl. I'm not going down that dark road twice in the same day." Mike warned while Joel pulled out his trusty pick and worked on Mike's handcuffs. Just as soon as Joel unlocked the cuffs, he was grabbed by Brain Guy and Bobo. The bots raised their meager weapons, but Mike put himself between them and the Forrester's.

"No, stay calm guys, stay calm."

"I don't know Mike, I've got an itchy trigger finger!" Servo announced boldly. Crow sighed,

"Servo, your fingers don't even work!"

"Enough of this!" Pearl roared. She grabbed Mike by the arm and spun him around to face her. "You listen and you listen well, Nelstone. You are going to sign that marriage license so that I can have the pleasure of killing you."

"But Mother, I really want to shoot him and Joel back into space!" Dr. F pouted like a child. Pearl looked at her son and sighed with that loving mother look. "Alright then, I'll only torture him to near death, but still as my husband it will count as a death. Bobo, the license."

The gorilla happily left Mike's side and reached inside his jacket and pulled out a piece of paper and held it up for all to see.

"Let me see that before I sign my life away." Mike demanded. Bobo handed the paper to the human who studied it for a moment. A snicker escaped his mouth that quickly grew into a hearty laugh. Everyone there began to laugh.

"What are we laughing about?" Brain Guy asked, trying to balance his brain pan as he let go of Mike. Pearl grabbed the paper from Mike and had tears running down her eyes as she read it.

"It's not a marriage license, it's a dog license! Bobo, you idiot!"

The laugher died quickly except for the SOL family.

"Well, the line was so long at the marriage desk, I didn't think it would matter."

"This proves you must have evolved from Nelson's gene pool, at least." Brain Guy sniffed.

"Hey! Alternate Universe!" Mike decried.

Joel pulled away from Brain Guy and tugged at the sleeve of Mike's jacket.

"Hey folks, it's been lovely and all, but it's time Mike and I head home. Supper's waiting and the bots have got to have their baths before bed and all, so we'll just say good night and God bless." Joel finished with his imitation of Red Skelton.

"Clayton, why didn't you get the license as I told you to?" Pearl demanded as the Forrester clan fell into a heated argument. Joel, Mike and the bots quickly made their escape, although the bots were not happy that they didn't get to actually engage the enemy in heated battle as they imagined.

It was nearly ten minutes later before the Forrester's realized their prey had flown the coop.

"Great! Now what am I supposed to do without test subjects? Dr. F complained loudly as he sat down in the front row pew of the chapel.

"Just have Brain Guy here pop them back!" Bobo offered offhandedly. Brain Guy gave the ape a very long, hard look.

"I am not a machine! I am trying to conserve my power, what with Pearl having me control those blasted slot machines when they're about to pay off, I'm exhausted! No, bringing them all back here would wipe me out for a week."

Pearl looked down at the white ball gown style wedding dress and cringed.

"Brain Guy, could you please change this dress for me?" she asked sweetly. He agreed and she was once more in her green and black take over the world suit. Feeling more like herself, she sat down next to her son.

"There's got to be a way...I want something hurtfully spectacular for those two," Pearl sunk into deep thought and came out of it suddenly with a very wicked smile. She motioned for Brain Guy to come sit next to her and the others gather around.

"Brain Guy, didn't you once tell me about a race of super Mafioso's?"

"Why yes, the Galactic Clown Mafia...oh no, no, no, no!" Brain Guy protested vehemently. "They are the scourge of the galaxy! Say what you want about Joel and Mike, I would not wish them to fall into those hands. They are ruthless and silly at the same time."

"They sound like our kind of people. How much do you suppose it would set me back for a kidnapping?" Pearl asked eagerly. Brain Guy's hollow eyes stared at the woman with total disbelief.

"This is madness! Besides, Earth is in a sector of the universe known as the Hands Off zone," Brain Guy tried to phrase his explanation as eloquently as he could. "Those of us from the more developed planets see Earth and others like it as not ready to, shall we say, join the club? The Star Rangers do their best to keep other life forms from interfering with your development, but sometimes folks like myself slip through the net, shall we say? As long as we are not interfering with the development of the planet then they tend to turn a blind eye, but if you bring in the Galactic Clown Mafia you will be raising, as you say, holy hell with not only the Star Rangers, but their bosses, the Star Lords, a group I do not want trouble from."

Pearl listened, but was undeterred.

"We are not ready to launch the Satellite of Love II yet, but it would be fun if we ran some simulations, make them think they're in space for a bit, then we go back to our regular schedule of terror and torture until it's time to launch. Brain Guy, you and I are going to see the Galactic Clown Mafia."

"I would venture to say it sounds like something the doctor ordered." Frank grinned.

"Yes, I say go for it, Mother dear. You have a right to revenge after the embarrassment you suffered." Dr. F said in a very understanding tone.

"Make it so, Brain Guy." Pearl ordered. He reluctantly put his powers into play and the pair disappeared.

Dr. Forrester looked about with a smile.

"While Mother is gone, how about a game of Poker back at Deep 13?"


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The planet Commedia was tucked away in a part of the universe unknown to Earth.

Lucky Earth.

It was a prosperous, happy place populated by clowns whose chief export was clown merchandise. But every silver lining has its dark cloud and for Commedia it was the Galactic Clown Mafia, an organization that ran the black markets of that quadrant and beyond.

Pearl and Brain Guy sat in the stately office of the head of the organization Don Bozoni at his mansion. The doors to the office opened and two tall freakish clowns entered the room dressed in tuxedos. They closed the door behind them and stood at the doors silently while a very short, garish looking clown strode over to the pair. Brain Guy jumped to his feet and motioned for Pearl to do the same.

"Ah, Observer, it has been such a long time since your last visit!" Don Bozoni said in a squeaky, New Yorkish accent.

Brain Guy shook hands with the clown and then he went behind the desk. A few moments later he was sitting at eye level in a hydraulic chair.

"This is Pearl Forrester. I sent a message ahead of time, but we seem to have interrupted a party." Brain Guy noted as he sat down.

"My daughter Giggles engagement party, please don't apologize, I needed to get away from the family for a bit. Your visit is a welcome intermezzo to a rather boring party. What can the Clownfather do for you, old friend?"

"What we want..." Pearl began loudly, only to get a sharp look from Brain Guy.

"Pearl, remember what I told you?" he alluded to the conversation they had before arriving. The Galactic Clown Mafia revered their women, but they did not speak out. Pearl was to stay quiet and only show her financial strength in the gold they had brought. She gave Brain Guy a very pained look and became quiet.

"My apologies Clownfather. Mrs. Forrester is from Earth and is not acquainted with your customs."

The little clown raised a much curved eyebrow.

"Earth, you say? A delightfully naive place I've been told. I'd love to open shop in that part of the universe if it wasn't for those doggone dingly Star Rangers!"

Brain Guy smiled at the clown's interest in Earth.

"That's what we've come about. We're looking to hire your best boys to do a little kidnapping and terror job on two humans we have been at odds with for some time now." Brain Guy nodded to Pearl who opened a black briefcase and pulled out a folder and handed it begrudgingly to her pale companion. Brain Guy opened the folder and spoke as he placed the pictures on the dark, ornate desk.

"Joel Robinson, once a test subject of Mrs. Forrester' son Dr. Clayton Forrester. He's an investor and a very clever fellow. Don't let the sleepy look fool you, he's a sharp cookie. This is Mike Nelson, the second of Dr. Forrester's test subjects. Very average as humans go, but has a determined spirit. These four are their robots, Crow, Tom Servo, Gypsy and Cambot."

The Clownfather studied each of the photos as he spoke.

"It would seem you could hire any garden variety thug to do this job. Why come to me?" Brain Guy leaned forward and pointed a white gloved finger.

"Because you're the best. You have a reputation for clean work but you can also frighten better than any ghoul out there. These boys have shamed not only Dr. Forrester but dear Mrs. Forrester as well. They are brazen, disrespectful children who need to be taught a lesson." Brain Guy said emphatically.

Clownfather thought for a few moments before speaking.

"It won't be cheap and payment is in gold."

Brain Guy took the briefcase from Pearl. He rose from his chair and placed the briefcase on the desk. He opened it to show it filled with thin ingots of gold.

"A half million Earth dollars' worth of pure Earth gold."

The clown boss nodded his approval, and closed the case.

"I don't need to check if it's real. Observers are notoriously honest and I'm sure this fine lady's word is worth its weight in gold. Now, when do you want the job done?"

Pearl was growing impatient as the mute observer in the negotiations. Brain Guy took note.

"I think Mrs. Forrester can fill you in on the details, if you would allow."

"I'm feeling very generous. Please madam, what are your wishes?"

"Tomorrow is Saturday on Earth. Saturday nights those far out space nuts have their Family Movie Night. They like to talk back at bad movies...don't ask, it would take too long to explain. Now, they usually finish their film fest about ten p.m., let's see, give them time to put their bots to bed, the boys usually sit up for a while to chat, oh let's say about 11:00."

Clownfather nodded his approval.

"You know your prey, Mrs. Forrester. I admire that. The money you have paid tells me you want more than just a standard snatch and grab job."

"Brain Guy here tells me you're the best at psychological warfare. Find their deep seeded fears and exploit them before you bring them to me."

"That's a very tight timeline, but I'll get my people on it," Clownfather looked to the two clowns guarding the doors. "Jingles, call Professor Clumpendinger and tell him I've got a rush job for him and I'll make it worth his while."

The Clownfather leaned over the desk and held out his white gloved hand. There was a large red stoned ring on his forefinger. Brain Guy gave Pearl a nudge.

"You've got to kiss the ring to seal the deal."

Pearl gave him a long side glance, but did as he instructed. She stood up and leaned over. As she kissed the ring, it squired water in her face. At once she wanted to strangle the clown, but swallowed her anger and smiled sweetly.

"She's a good sport, I like that in a woman. Jangles, escort Mrs. Forrester to the anti-room and see that she is comfortable. I would like to talk with Observer for a few moments, if you don't mind, dear lady?"

"Not at all!" Pearl said as she left the room with the two clown guards.

"Observer," Clownfather began slowly and not in the genial tone he'd used before. "You are playing a dangerous game with me."

"How so?" Brain Guy asked innocently.

"I know about Dr. Clayton Forrester and his experiments. Don't look so surprised, my informants are everywhere, even in the Hands-Off Zone. My main concern is this Mike Nelson. He spent five hundred years in space. What does he remember of it?"

"Nothing that I can find out. You see, we Observers cannot control his mind."

Don Bozoni shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"That's not good, old friend, not good at all. If he was taken in by the Star Lords and they find out I've been messing about with him, all heck and havoc will break out. Last time I tangled with the Star Lords, they nearly put me out of business."

"How will they find out?" Brain Guy said lightly, trying to defuse the Clownfather's worries. "Why in the universe would beings of such power as the Star Lords bother with someone as simple and common as Mike Nelson? From what I've gathered all he remembers of that period is being out playing in the stars as a being of pure energy, perfectly harmless!"

"Those are the ones Star Lords are most attracted to. The simple, weak folk who can't protect themselves. A bunch of do-gooder demi-gods on my tail is something I don't need."


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"No, I'm not reading you a story tonight, Crow. Just go to sleep."

"No, I'm not singing you a lullaby, Tom. Just go to sleep."

Mike and Joel emerged from the bots bedrooms at the same time.

"They're worse than human kids. Their power source is too strong." Joel sighed as he and Mike headed for the stairs.

"Hey, you made them." Mike smiled wearily as they pair went down the staircase and made their way to the living room. They had just finished Family Movie Night and were both still in their jumpsuits. Joel wore his maroon while Mike had donned his electric blue. It was close to 11:00 p.m. as they cleaned up the coffee table from the copious amounts of snacks the bots favored. The two humans were just as guilty.

"You know, Joel, I still can't figure out how those two got my underwear off me while I still had my jumpsuit on." Mike recalled out of the blue.

"Really?" Joel stopped for a moment, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"I never told you? We were watching a film called The Starfighters, a really bad Air Force film when they decided to "debrief" me during one of the breaks. I thought they were going to ask me questions about the movie so far, but those two little rascals knocked me to the floor and took my underwear off!"

Joel couldn't help but laugh at the mental picture.

"Remind me to have Cambot cue that up for me. We still have so much video to watch from those days." One of the first things Joel did when the quartet moved in was to download Cambot's overcrowded memory onto a dedicated hard-drive just for him. With some modifications, Cambot could now go to the computer room and plug himself in for downloads. Although the littlest of the robots couldn't speak, Joel knew he enjoyed his newfound mobility. He hoped to have a hovering hub for Cambot finished by Christmas as a gift, although the thought of two hovering robots in the house did give him a spark of trepidation from time to time.

"I'm hoping to finish weeding the flowerbeds tomorrow and..." Mike was laying out his Sunday plans to Joel when the power went out.

"Must be a breaker. Remind me to re-wire that tomorrow." Joel said very matter of factly as he carefully made his way to the hall closet where the breaker boxes were. The SOL family ran a high electric bill on average that only got worse during Halloween and Christmas when they went mad with decorations that delighted and disgusted their neighbors.

As Joel opened the door, a brightly gloved hand reached out and grabbed the front of his jumpsuit, pulling him into the closet before he could react. Another gaudily gloved hand swiftly covered his mouth. A single light bulb came on and swung from a long length of wire. Joel realized immediately that something had happened to his electric room.

A white-faced clown wearing a blue and green striped business suit seemed to pop out of nowhere, holding a candy bar.

"Hey, little boy, want a Salted Nut Roll?"

Joel tried to cry out as one of the other clowns hit the candy offering one with a rubber chicken.

"Geeze Zips, we're here to scare him, not put on a kiddie show!"

"Well, he looks pretty scared to me. I'd say our job is done." Zips observed as Joel struggled against the clown holding him.

"Hardly."

A fourth clown appeared from a dark corner of the room. This one was wearing a black lab coat. His clothing looked normal compared to what the others were wearing, but it was his face that sent a blast of cold fear through Joel's being. His skin was a yellowish shade and his lips were black as were the area around his eyes, much like the Observers. The other clowns backed off except for the one holding Joel. A smile creased the clown's dark lips as he reached out with a black gloved hand and touched the inventor's face.

"I am Professor Clumpendinger. I am a scientist and from what I've been told, you are not unfamiliar with scientists, though I must say you've probably been dealing with rank armatures here on Earth," the clown's voice resonated with the tone of a B movie villain, overly suave, but dark. What he was saying filled Joel with dread. "Jo-Jo, let our friend loose, he won't be going anywhere except where I tell him to go."

"Duh, I don't know, Prof, the boss sez..."

"Let him go. The Prof knows what he's doing." Zips explained as the large, dumb clown released his grip on Joel, who staggered forward, gasping for breath.

"Geeze fella, you didn't have to cut off my air like that," Joel complained, turning to Jo-Jo. "What's going on here? Who are you guys and what have you done to my electric room?"

"Ah, I love lower life forms when they are curious," Clumpendinger noted his approval of Joel. "I am here on behalf of the Galactic Clown Mafia and this, dear boy, is a kidnapping, but not your garden variety snatch and grab. Those who paid wanted some extra kick put into it as in a scare, a very bad scare," The clown Professor walked in a slow circle around Joel, studying him from head to toe.

"I've gathered up as much information on you as I could, it's a pity I don't have more time with you, what I've gleamed is fascinating stuff." He stopped walking to face Joel. He was a few inches taller than the inventor, so he craned his long, thin neck now to gaze at his prey.

"I think it's time to play a game. A game of Lost and Found," Clumpendinger smiled wickedly. "You've lost something, Joel. Something treasured from your childhood and I have found it. All you have to do is retrieve it."

The inventor did his best to swallow the fear bubbling up inside of him. He took a few small steps around the taunting clown and had his back to the darkness that was once the closet.

"There's nothing in the past I need. I'm not going to play this game." Joel's voice was soft, but firm as he stood his ground. The clown professor shook his head with a sigh.

"Very well. If you wish to inflict harm upon your family, so be it."

The room became quite until the house seemed to be filled with the sound.

"Keep away from us!"

"Cambot, look out!"

"Mommy, Mommy!"

"Get your hands off him...Servo!"

Joel immediately knew his bots were in trouble. He lunged forward and tried to open the door, but it was locked. Taking a few steps back, he lunged his un-athletic body to the door. The clowns couldn't help but laugh at his attempts to escape.

The largest of the clowns, Jo-Jo merely lifted the young man from the floor and tossed him towards Clumpendinger. Joel landed in a heap at the clown's feet.

"Leave them alone, they've been through enough already...the Foresters', they hired you!"

"We don't work for cheap, kid." Zips said, leaning against Jo-Jo. The Professor bent down and helped Joel to his feet. He put an arm around his victim and pulled him close to his side.

"Time is not on your side, little boy. Now I have much to do, we still have your friend Mike to deal with, so let's take a little walk down memory lane, shall we?"

The mad clown walked slowly toward the darkness as Joel felt compelled to walk with him. The further into the room he went, the cloudier his mind became until he was aware that the manic clown was no longer with him. He soon found himself in front of a plain door. He opened it without thought of what might lie beyond.

Stepping inside, he found himself in a very familiar place. The room was warm and bright as sunlight streamed through the windows. Birds were singing and hopping about the branches of the apple tree just outside. The apple tree that Joel climbed as a child. The aroma of warm sugar cookies made his mouth water as he entered the room.

"Joel, honey is that you?"

"Grandma?"

Joel was unaware of the door closing behind him and the click of a lock sealing him in.

He was standing in the kitchen of his Grandma Robinson's home. It was his home away from home, the place he felt as if nothing could hurt him. Grandma was always there. She turned around and smiled at him.

"My, look how you've grown! Such a handsome young man! Oh you always were the cleaver one, so much like your father."

Joel rushed and hugged the woman tightly.

"Grandma, it's been so long."

"No, I'm never far from your heart as long as you think of me." She said with a smile as she stepped back and pointed to the chair at the kitchen table. Joel sat down to find a plate with sugar cookies and a glass of milk waiting for him. He ate them and washed them down with the milk while Grandma Robinson looked on with a warm smile.

"I have something for you, something I wanted you to have."

Suddenly in her hands appeared a wooden box the size of a small jewelry box. It gleamed with inlayed woods shaped like roses running all about the box and lid.

"Your music box. It was lost in the fire...oh god, the fire." Joel suddenly remembered the fire that took his grandmother's life. It happened during the summer of his junior year in high school. He was home when the fire broke out that took her from him. His depression was so deep that his parents had him see a physiatrist who specialized in hypno-therapy and buried the memory deep in his sub-conscious. He was told that his grandmother had died in her sleep. It was shortly after that he and his parents moved to Minneapolis where his father took a job with his company that would let him stay home more. His parents never told him the truth.

Joel shivered with the discovery of that part of his past. He took the box and held it tightly to him. The room suddenly went dark and he found himself sitting on the floor as the single light bulb swung overhead.

"A pity to have such deceptive parents." The Professor's voice said from the darkness.

"They did what they thought was best for me. I wasn't well." Joel whispered as he looked over the box. He turned it over and found his name scratched into the bottom. He had done it with a pen knife when he was eight.

"It was the first thing you ever took apart. I'm giving it to you, as a gift. A treasured piece of your childhood. Aren't you going to thank me?" the clown asked as Joel opened the lid. The music played as it had a thousand times before, a sad little tune that now tore his heart open.

"I should have been there. I could have saved her..." The inventor suddenly slumped over and fell onto his back. The clown came forward and looked down at his victim with great satisfaction.

"What a pity we cannot work this planet, these humans are so delightfully fragile creatures. It's amazing how they've lasted this long. Zips, Jo-Jo, take our dear Joel and pack him up for his journey. I must be seeing to Mike Nelson next. I haven't had this much fun in ages!"

Mike was standing in the darkened living room when he heard the bots cry out to him.

"Mike, help us!"

"Don't let them hurt us!"

"No!"

Without thought, he rushed toward the stairs when something wrapped around his ankles and pulled him down to the floor. He looked over his shoulder and saw nothing but darkness as he was dragged towards it. Mike clawed at the hardwood floor, but was quickly engulfed in the darkness. The room he was in was lit by a single candle on a table. Mike found his ankles wrapped up with brightly colored scarves made into one long cord which he quickly removed. He got to his feet and looked around.

"It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness. You Earthlings have such quant saying."

"What's going on? Who are you?" Mike demanded hotly.

"My, my but you are very different from Joel. It must be true what they say about opposites attracting. You balance each other well."

"Show yourself!"

"Joel is peace, Michael is war. Fascinating!" The Professor stepped out of the darkness. Mike was taken aback by the ghastly looking clown. "Professor Clumpendinger at your service, or should I say you are at my service, dear boy."

Mike lunged forward and grabbed the clown by the front of his lab coat.

"What are you doing here? Where are my bots and where is Joel?"

The clown just laughed in a maniacal way that made Mike let go of him and back off. The clown gathered himself together, pointing to his victim with a broad smile.

"I like riddles, don't you? Well, here's one I hope you can answer for me. What is human and spent five hundred years in space?"

"Sounds like me." Mike answered warily, watching the clown as he circled around his prey, much like he did with Joel.

"Exactly! That's a long time and what I want to know is what do you remember about it?"

Mike felt his anger slowly being pushed aside as fear took root in its place.

"Nothing. I was just out amongst the stars. I don't remember anything else, there's nothing else to remember."

Clumpendinger stopped walking and faced Mike.

"Someone is blocking your memory. I have my theories, but no proof. I only know that no one spends that kind of time in space without recollection. Someone is protecting you, child. Perhaps this will jog your memory?" The mad clown produced a small cage from midair that had contained a small animal-like creature. It was shaped like a small bunny, but its fur snapped and sparked like static electricity. Sharp, staccato bolts of pain raced through his head as blurred images fought to come to the forefront of his mind. The fear of the creature kept him from bringing these images into focus as they slowly retreated back to the deepest parts of his mind.

"No, no...Get it away from me. Please, I don't want it to hurt me again!"

"It's a Grefron. They are used for tracking and hunting in the Baratarron sector. Now, how could you be afraid of such a creature?" the Professor held the cage out closer to Mike. The little animal snarled and hissed. Mike tried to run but was caught by Jo-Jo and Zips. Clumpendinger shoved the cage into Mike's face and he cried out in fear, turning his head away.

"No! Get it away from me!"

"You don't know what it is, yet you have a deathly fear of it. Remarkable indeed. I only know of a handful of being who could block a memory like this but the fact that this frightens you is a puzzle indeed. If only we had the time to find more triggers, then we could unlock the whole tale."

Beads of sweat ran down the human's face as he squirmed to break free.

"I don't know what it is, just the pain, it was so bad..."

"Very well. I've made my point." The clown made the cage vanish, then grabbed Mike by the chin and glared into his blue eyes

"I don't remember anything. Leave me alone." Mike's voice was shaky as he trembled from the fear.

"I have hit a nerve with you. If only I could take you to my lab and work on you, I'm sure I would find the answers, but unfortunately I'm hired for this job and we are running late, so it's time for you to join your friends."

The clown reached into his lab coat pocket and pulled out a bright orange silk flower. On the stem was a squeeze ball that he held as he placed the flower right in Mike's face. A puff of orange smoke came from the center of the flower that he couldn't help but breathe in.

"Nighty, night dear boy." The Professor smiled as Mike went limp. Jo-Jo grabbed him and threw him easily over his shoulder.

"Geeze that was sure fun, Prof. Wish we could have dragged it out more." Zips lamented. Clumpendinger nodded in agreement.

"Yes Zips, these two hold deep secrets. No wonder the Forrester's want them so badly."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Joel awoke slowly to the soft sound of humming and beeping. He groaned softly as his head hit the back of something hard. Putting his hands over his face, he tried to pull his thoughts together, but his mind was a muddle of thoughts that couldn't connect to make sense, so he closed his eyes and waited for the grogginess to depart.

He had no indication of the passage of time as his watch had been taken from him. Slowly, he staggered to his feet, turning around to find himself leaning on a desk. Joel slowly raised his head, then cried out in fright, then realize who was on the other side of the desk.

"Oh, thank god it's you, Mike."

"Geeze, what are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" Mike groaned from the opposite side of the desk. The pair waited several minutes in silence as the effects of their capture wore off. Joel stepped away from the desk and looked around the dim room, his normally placid face lit up with amazement.

"Mike, we're on the Satellite of Love!"

"Can't be. I crash landed the ship six years ago. Nothing was left but wreckage, we were lucky to survive."

Joel turned to Mike and waved his arms about with excitement.

"Look around! It's the SOL! We're on the bridge. Pearl wasn't kidding when she said she had built another one. She must have launched it while we were unconscious."

"Something's not right." Mike said seriously, looking to the bride doors. At that moment, muffled sounds became audible. Joel walked around the bridge desk to find a large wooden crate marked "Hamdingers".

"Mike, the bots are inside! Quick, we gotta find something to pry this crate open!"

Going around to the back of the desk, Mike found a crowbar and handed it to Joel.

"That was too convenient." Mike muttered as he helped Joel pry the top from the crate.

"Yeah, now that you mention it." Joel agreed as he and Mike tossed the slats of wood aside. Amidst the bubble wrap and newspaper were Joel's children huddled together in fear. The men reached down and helped the scared bots out of the box.

"Mike, it was horrible...they, they chased us and scared us..." Crow sniffed as he clung to Mike for dear life.

"It's ok, it's ok. No one will hurt you now." Mike soothed the shaking robot.

"Joel, those clowns were so evil! Evil!" Servo hovered, snuggling next to his creator's chest.

"I know Tommy, I know. We got a taste of it too."

Gypsy popped out of the crate like a Jack-In-The-Box with Cambot carefully cradled in her mouth. Joel reached over and took the smallest robot in his arms. A series of squeals and squawks told Joel all he needed to know.

"They scared you too, huh buddy?"

"I don't ever want to see another clown, ever!" Gypsy cried as she snugged on Mike's shoulder.

"Awww, Gyps it's gonna be fine now. We're all together and that's what matters."

"I want to go back to the office, Joel, I liked it there."

"Magic Voice? How did they get you?" Joel asked looking about as if he could see her.

"I don't know. One minute I was working on the database in the library then I'm here! I'm sorry Mike, but those clowns really made a mess of the library." Magic Voice said sadly.

"No problem, Magic Voice, I'll clean things up when we get home."

"If we get home. In case you guys haven't noticed, we're out in space again." Crow noted sadly.

"Yes, the gravity is different here than on Earth." Tom astutely observed.

Mike and Joel shook their heads.

"Doesn't feel any different to me."

"Same here."

Both men noticed the light panel on the control desk. The red light was lit up.

"Oh great, the Groovy Ghoulies are calling." Joel said with disgust as he slapped the red button. The large front screen lit up and showed Team Forrester all sitting around a table in Deep 13.

"Ah, Mike, Joel, Bots! Nice to see you all awake and ready for your introduction to the Satellite of Love II," Dr. Forrester smiled warmly.

"Geeze Dr. F., you could have just asked us if we wanted to back to space again." Joel asked in a very simplistic manner.

"And what would your answer have been, Jolie cakes?

"NO!" the SOL family replied in hearty unison.

Pearl leaned forward, getting her face into the camera.

"Look you guys, I spent a half million dollars just to have you abducted by the Galactic Clown Mafia and from the video I've seen it was worth every penny! We're going to tear your minds down, cell by cell..."

"Mother, please? I'm the scientist." Dr. Forrester politely interrupted his mother's rant. Pearl gave her son a pained look, but backed off.

"Very well Clayton, but you do know how to take the fun out of evil." Pearl sat back in her chair and let her son take over.

"The first thing we need to do is acquaint you with the improvements and upgrades we have made to the Satellite of Love II. Now Joel, under the desk you'll find volume one of the changes. Follow along, I don't want to have to do this twice."

"Neither do I, it was boring enough to type it out." Frank yawned.

Joel pulled out the large book and flipped through the pages with Gypsy reading along as Dr. Forrester droned on. Servo had hovered over to the window on the far side of the control room and was looking out when he noticed something.

"Pssst, Mike, come here." Servo hissed. Mike went over and stood in front of the window with Crow.

"Something doesn't look right here. Ask Dr. Forrester where we are in orbit." The little red robot suggested.

"Hey, Dr. F, don't mean to interrupt but where are we in orbit over Earth?" Mike asked in a simplistic manner.

"Right at this moment you are over the eastern portion of the United State, you might as well wave good-bye to your home as you pass by." Dr. Forrester said with glee before turning back to his manual and Joel.

Servo hovered next to Mike's head and whispered to him,

"Take a look at the constellations. Remember the Astronomy class you took as an elective? What's wrong with this sky?"

Crow sauntered over and climbed up the back of Mike's jumpsuit to get a closer look.

"Yeah Servo, you're right!" Crow said in a hushed voice. In a few moments Mike knew what they were talking about.

"See the problem, Mike?" Servo asked.

"Servo, I could kiss you, hell, I will!" Mike grabbed the little robot and planted a warm kiss on his beak. Servo shook his head.

"We gotta get your out of the house more."

Mike turned around and went over to the desk and promptly pulled the manual away from Joel and tossed it aside.

"Mike! What's up with you?" Joel asked in alarm as Mike turned and pushed the hamdinger crate aside. Folding his arms, he leaned against the front of the control desk with a smug smile.

"We are not in orbit. This bird hasn't left the ground."

"Go to your room, young man!" Pearl ordered. Mike stood his ground with a Cheshire smile. He pointed to the port window.

"You guys really had me going until Servo pointed out the night sky over there. Yeah, that's a picture of the night sky from space over Minnesota, but it's the middle of June and that photo was taken in January. You see, the stars move about..."

"What!" Dr. Forrester cried out, turning to Frank. "Frank, I told you to make sure the images were correct for the time of year!" Frank shrugged his shoulders and with a sheepish grin explained.

"See, I was so busy with the wedding and all that I passed the job to Brain Guy here."

The pasty alien sputtered his excuse.

"Well, I've been, there was this...I've been too busy with the casinos to worry about that, so I handed it off to Bobo."

Everyone looked to the gorilla who shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Ok, I dropped the pictures! Once more I mess up the plans to take over the world!" Bobo said in a woeful tone. His fellow henchmen did their best to comfort the ape.

"Buck up, Bobo. We've all made mistakes." Brain Guy smiled, patting the gorilla on the shoulder.

"Hey, at least Pearl hasn't killed you yet. Man, Dr. F. there has done me in more times than I care to remember!" Frank chimed in. While this discussion had been going on, Team SOL were making their own plans in a huddle.

Out of the huddle, Joel strode forward and clapped his hands together and spoke with a calm, but happy voice.

"Well folks, it looks like you've lost again, so we'll just be shoving off now..."

"And where do you think you're going to, sweet child of mine, hummm?" Dr. Forrester rose from his chair with a deadly look in his eyes. "So, our plan to make you think you were in orbit failed. I still have you all locked in the satellite and there you will stay working on the completion. With all of you slaving away we'll have this bird airborne in no time, and pass the savings on to Mother."

While the bad guys cheered their apparent victory, the SOL family tasted the bitter dregs of defeat.

"Joel, he's not playing fair!" Crow sobbed as his creator picked him up and sat him on the control desk.

"I wanna go home, to our house. This isn't our home anymore." Servo lamented as he flew over to Joel to join his brother bot in the commiseration.

"Joel, what will happen to my business if I'm not there to run it?"

"Don't worry, I'll take good care of your business, once I purchase it at a rock bottom price!" Pearl gleefully announced.

Cambot sat on the desk and turned his lens to the baddies and gave them a raspberry sound. Mike turned to Joel, shaking his head.

"I'm fresh out of ideas, how about you?"

"At the moment I've got a whole basketful of nothing, but that doesn't mean we won't get out of this." Joel said with a small smile of hope, but Mike was still challenging his captivity as always. He walked around to the other side of the control table to join his family.

"What do you think is going to happen when people notice we've disappeared, hum? Someone's going to start looking and the trail will eventually lead back to you, Pearl." Mike's defiant tone seemed to bolster the spirits of the little family.

"Yeah, what about it, Pearl?" Joel asked boldly, as the bots chattered and taunted.

"I can see you've picked up some of Mike's bad habits," Pearl noted with disdain. "I'll beat that defiance out of all of you! I have a new hobby called Spell casting and shortly Clayton and I will perfect our Forget Me Do potion that will make sure everyone who ever knew you forget you. Top that, dreamy eyes!"

Joel turned his back to the screen, not wanting the Forrester's to relish in his disappointment. Mike put a comforting arm around the inventor's shoulders.

"Don't worry, we'll get them. The good guys always win. Don't let them see you like this."

"C'mon Joel, pull it together!" Crow encouraged snuggling close.

"We are made of stronger stuff." Tom announced.

"We can do this." Magic Voice said softly. Cambot squeaked out his message.

"No matter where we are, we are a family and the Forrester's can't take that away from us." Gypsy counseled.

"I love you guys!" Joel choked up, throwing his arms around his family.

"Hey, let's sing a song! That always makes us feel better!" Tom suggested.

"Sure, let's sing so Tom can drown the rest of us out." Crow grumbled. Joel gave the bot a light slap on his beak.

"Crow, be nice. So, what should we sing?"

"Oh no, there will be no singing on this ship!" Dr. Forrester wagged a finger at the captives.

"You're just jealous because we sing better than you and our songs are cleverer than yours." Mike challenged.

"A music contest? I am so there!"

A flash of light filed the bridge and faded to reveal a visitor.

"Mr. B Natural!" everyone chimed in together with varying degrees of trepidation.

"Someone mentioned music, so here I am, the Spirit of Music, at your service!" Mr. B said in his high pitched and overly cheerful voice.

"Oh lord, not HIM again!" Dr. Forrester groaned.

"Wow Mr. B, I never thought you were real!" Joel was taken aback by the being who had tormented more than one dream.

"As real as Phantom of Krankor is to us." Tom lamented. Mike tried to hush him.

"Geeze Tom, that's the last guy we need right now!"

"Can you help us escape from this ship? We're kinda being held against our wills here." Crow asked the unusually shapely man.

Mr. B smiled with utter delight as he danced about the bridge, much to the dismay of not only the captives, but the captors as well. He stopped and jumped on top of the control desk.

"We shall have a musical contest and I will be the judge. Whoever has the best musical presentation will win. If Mike and Joel win, they gain their freedom, if the Forrester's' win, then I leave you all here to your fates."

"Swing Choir Rules!" Frank called out.

"Very well. Now I'll give you ten minutes to prepare starting now!"

"What if we don't want to participate?" Brain Guy asked astutely. Mr. B frowned at him.

"You must play the game or I'll destroy you all!"

"Well put indeed!"

The ten minutes passed all too quickly, but each group managed to prepare a presentation.

"Alright, let's see what the Forrester's have for us." Mr. B settled in, standing in front of the video screen. "Oh wait, this will never do. I prefer live performances!"

A flash of light and the Forrester clan were on the bridge of the SOL II.

"Hey, what's the big deal? Brain Guy, take us back." Pearl ordered.

"I can't. It seems my powers are being blocked." He complained.

"That's right. There will be no unfair advantage. We play on a level field, so you may begin." Mr. B instructed.

Dr. Forrester and Frank led them in a parody of the Gamera song Joel had done years before that poked fun at Deep 13, but now it made fun of the SOL crew. When they finished, Joel pointed an accusing finger at them.

"See, you see what I mean? They even steal my songs!"

Mr. B turned to the SOL family.

"Well, Mr. B, we don't have anything original, but we do have a song, a very old song but it sums up how we feel as a family. Would you please cue it up, Cambot?" Mike asked as he and Mike positioned themselves on either side of their bots.

_Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,_

_Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home;_

_A charm from the skies seems to hallow us there,_

_Which seek thro' the world, is ne'er met elsewhere._

_Home! Home!_

_Sweet, sweet home!_

_There's no place like home_

_There's no place like home!_

"What a pile of moronic tripe!"

"Sentimental who-ha!"

Mr. B Natural looked to the Forrester's and frowned.

"Apparently none of you know what the true Spirit of Music is, despite the fact you just heard it. Music conveys all human emotions, but love is the strongest," He turned to Joel and his family. "You have won your freedom, Joel Robinson, and because you all did such a beautiful job of singing that grand old song I'm going to give you the locking device to this ship. It might do these bad guys some good to sit here for a while and contemplate their lives."

Mr. B handed Joel a locking key the size of his hand and disappeared.

"Well, well, well, lookie what we got here guys." Joel said with a wicked grin as he held up the key. The panic in the Forrester camp was palatable. Joel and Mike stepped up to the control desk, grinning.

"Now Joel," Dr. Forrester began as sweat broke out on his brow, "you know I've always looked upon you as the son I never had, my dear, dear boy!"

"Mike," Pearl said meekly, "you know I would never, ever harm a hair on that sweet head of yours!"

"I don't believe this." Crow said, climbing up Mike's back to get a better vantage point on his shoulders.

"What a pile of dog do-do." Tom added as he hovered over to nestle in Joel's arms.

"Now gang, let's hear them out." Joel instructed.

"Yeah, go on, geeze I hope you're recording this, Cambot." Mike asked. The little robot whistled an affirmation from his position on top of Gypsy's head.

"C'mon you guys! You know it's all in fun!" Frank smiled hopefully only to have the SOL family shake their heads.

"You're really not going to lock us in this ship, are you?" Bobo ventured a question.

"It would serve you right," Gypsy pronounced. "You drugged Mike and Joel. Poor Mike was very sick and scared and turning Joel against Mike was very bad. You drugged them again, got them arrested, then kidnapped Crow, Tom and Cambot and sliced Crow in half then you tried to make Mike marry Pearl and then those horrible clowns in our home!"

"My, but we have been busy, haven't we?" Joel whistled. "And let's not go into all the horrible stuff you did to us in space. We'd be here for a week running down that list."

"Punishment fits the crime if you ask me." Servo thoughtfully said. The two factions broke out in a heated argument, but Mike hung back and waited until he noticed Brain Guy getting hotly involved in the argument. He quickly rushed to him, grabbed his brain pan and returned to his family.

"Brain...gone...him...got?" the once near omnipotent being stuttered.

"Smooth move, Nelson!" Crow gave Mike a hug.

"How are we gonna get home? We have no idea where we are." Tom wondered. Pearl laughed wickedly.

"That's right, and I have the keys to the vehicles. We're a long, long way from Minnesota kiddies."

"There's a signal coming in from the Hexfield Viewscreen." Gypsy announced. They turned as the Hexfield opened.

"Ah, Mike Nelson my good friend!"

"Hey guys, it Phantom of Krankor!" Mike said with a grin, "Good to see you again buddy!"

"Yes, it is good to see you too. We noticed you were gone from our visuals."

"Well, we managed to get back to Earth and all, so how have you been?" Mike asked with genuine interest.

"Very well, thank you. Between conquering worlds and dodging Prince of Space, we stay busy. Ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Mike, do you think he could give us a lift home?" Joel wondered aloud.

"Say Krankor, I and my friends are in a bit of a pinch. These bad guys have us trapped and we can get out but we don't know where we are and have no way home."

"Say no more, Mike. We have a lock on you. Come outside and we'll land and take you back to your Minnesota."

"Thanks Krankor!" Mike said as the Hexfield Viewscreen closed.

"Let's head down to the cargo hatch on the other side of the ship." Gypsy said leading the way through the large doors. Mike and Joel hung back for a moment as Joel tossed the key in the air and caught it. Mike held on tight to the brain pan.

"You are not seriously going to lock us in here, are you?" Dr. Forrester asked in a tiny voice.

"Never been more serious in my life." Joel smile.

"We'll let you out, when we feel like you've had enough of a taste of what we went through." Mike said with a dark edge to his voice.

"But, but you're the good guys! You're supposed to forgive and forget!" Frank pleaded.

"Sure Frank, ask Pearl how many times I helped her out of a jam and she broke her promise to free me and the bots." Mike replied flatly.

"We'll let you go, unlike you," Joel said turning to leave. "But I don't ever want to see any of you again. Live your lives and we'll live ours. We'll drop the brain off at Deep 13, I know where the key is."

Joel and Mike departed with a swish of the control room doors.

"CLAYTON! How do you get yourself into the messes?" Pearl roared.

Mike and Joel hung by the door for a moment to listen to the scream fest that began. As they made their way down the long hallway they looked about.

"She looks like a sound ship. Do you ever want to go back up there?" Mike asked Joel.

"I may sound crazy, but yeah I'd love to go back there someday, but on my own terms"


	20. Chapter 20 & Epilogue

Chapter 20

"Have my orders been carried out, Captain?" The tall muscular man asked the one walking next to him down what seemed an endless corridor.

"Yes, Viceroy. The parties involved in the Earth raid have been arrested and brought here to Star Ranger Headquarters and the purification orbs should be at their destination by now. It is night where they are going." The captain said with a question in his voice. The Viceroy stopped and turned to the younger man. His copper colored skin seemed to take on a glow in the harsh light of the corridor.

"I can appreciate your curiosity over these measures, Captain. I only wish I could tell you at this time. You must be content to trust me when I say that this affair goes much deeper than a violation of Earth space." The viceroy's voice was deep with a melodious tone to it. He turned and started down the corridor with the captain doing his best to keep up with the stride of the tall man. Two guards saluted the Viceroy with a closed fist over their heart and opened the doors they were guarding.

The Viceroy swept into the room, his long coat and cloak flying in back of him. He stopped at the table where six clowns from Commedia were seated. Three of them were the ones who abducted Joel and Mike, the others were responsible for taking the robots. He dismissed the guards who left quickly. The tall man leaned forward, placing his bejeweled hands on the table.

"My, my, we must be in deep poodie-poo to have the great and powerful Viceroy Salamana, head of the Star Ranger Academy here to interrogate us," Professor Clumpendinger grinned sickly. "I would bow before your mightiness, but these restraints forbid such graces."

"I know what you did, but I do not know why. Who hired you to raid Earth?" the Viceroy demanded darkly. "We know the trail will lead back to Don Bozoni eventually and I am a most patient man, but this is something I do not have patience for. Who paid you to harm Michael Nelson and his friends?"

Clumpendinger raised an eyebrow in interest.

"So, you know this human? I knew there had to be a connection to someone important. Who would go to the trouble of wiping five hundred years of memory from a mere human?"

The Viceroy ignored the statement and continued his interrogation.

"You violated the Hands-Off Zone agreement. Earth is off limits. You have left your disgusting grime where it will harm innocents. I have sent to the Temple of Light to send cleansing orbs which are at this moment removing all traces and memories you have damaged."

"But there is an Observer living there." Zips spoke up, only to have the professor snap at him.

"Zips you fool! I told you to keep your mouth shut!"

The Viceroy smiled, stoking his neatly trimmed black beard.

"So, there is an Observer on Earth. That makes my job much easier."

"You cannot bring humans to the Tribunal." Clumpendinger shot back.

"No, I cannot punish them for their part in this, but through them I'll find the money trail and take down Bozoni and his illegal operation once and for all." The Viceroy turned to leave when Clumpendinger called out after him.

"Who is Mike Nelson that he warrants your attention? Did you purchase him in the marketplace or did you just find him out in space? What fascination does a mere child hold over a being such a you, Viceroy?"

The Viceroy looked over his should and said in a chilling voice.

"Michael J. Nelson and his friends may very well save us all from certain doom."

Epilogue

Joel was at his workbench in the garage tinkering with a pile of gears and assorted parts. Sunday afternoon was the time he enjoyed working on these unnamed projects. Many were just pipedreams that never amounted to anything, but sometimes there was a diamond in the rough that would be transferred to his lab for further development. He knew Gypsy hated to see him work at home, but to him these projects were relaxation, much like Mike's reading.

"C'mon Servo, this will work, I guarantee it."

"I don't know, Crow, seems kind of underhanded."

Joel looked up from the bench and noticed the door to the kitchen was slightly ajar. Putting down his tools, he made his way quietly over to the door to listen to the two bots plotting.

"Mike keeps that cupboard above the fridge locked for a reason." Tom Servo protested.

"Servo, inside that cupboard is the mother lode of goodies. That's where he keeps the stash, man!" the gold robot pressed his case with all the enthusiasm he could muster.

"But we are programmed to obey and Mike said..."

Joel put a hand to his mouth to keep from laughing as Crow waxed dramatic. He grabbed Servo and pulled him to his side, pointing to the locked cupboard high above.

"We are the chosen ones, Servo! We must transcend programming and fight for our rights! We have as much right to a Kit Kat bar as any human!"

"Wouldn't it be easier just to ask Mike to give us one?" Tom asked.

"No! Today is the day we take what is rightfully ours!" Crow said as he turned to face Servo. "Servo, you've gone soft since we moved in with Joel and Gypsy. Where's the bot with the great sense of adventure? The guy who never let anything stop him? The one who helped me roll Joel in the cardboard alley and cheat Mike out of fifty cents? Where is that Tom Servo?" Crow ended his speech in a tone of defeat that hit a cord with the little bot. He spun his gumball head towards Crow.

"Oh Crow, forgive me, my brother, forgive me. Yes, you are right, we must take a stand for robots everywhere!"

Joel stepped back and reached for his cell phone to give Mike a heads up on what was about to befall him, but he put the phone back in his shirt pocket. His curiosity on how this would play out got the better of him. He stepped back to the door to watch and listen.

"Ok Servo, you hold that end of the wire and I'll hold this end across the entryway. Hold it nice and tight. Mike should be coming any minute now to start getting supper ready."

"But Mike trips a lot on his own. Do we really need the wire?" Servo inquired.

"We can't take that chance. We must seize the moment!"

"What if Gypsy or Cambot come around?" Servo asked nervously as he hid under a nearby stool.

"Cabot is upstairs with Gypsy helping her organize her Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea disk set...here he comes!"

Mike came down the stairs, jumping off the last two and whistling some unknown tune as he headed for the kitchen. He stepped forward at the entryway, only to be tripped up by the wire. He went down, face first on the cool ceramic floor.

"Ow! What the..."

The two bots appeared from their hiding places and jumped on the unsuspecting human.

"Crow, get off me...Servo, what are you doing?"

"I got the keys, Crow!" the red robot announced happily as he flew up to the cupboard.

"Take it easy, Nelson and no one gets hurt." Crow sneered darkly, but this was not the first time Mike had been pinned down by the gold bot. With a grunt, he managed to roll over and pin the bot to the floor.

"Ok, what's the plan now?" Mike demanded, but not in an angry tone. The three had formed a brotherly bod in space and it only grew stronger over the years.

"We demand our rights to the candy stash!" Crow announced.

"No, we'll be having supper shortly. Besides, I've seen how you two act when you've scarfed too much candy. Now give me back my keys, Servo."

"Sorry Mike, I can't do that." Servo said from his perch atop the fridge.

"You guys are gonna be the death of me, now give me those keys!"

Servo hovered and flew past Mike, heading for the back yard.

Mike grunted his frustration as he got to his feet and looked down at Crow.

"I know this was your idea. It's got Crow T. Robot written all over it. I'll deal with you later." Mike huffed as he headed towards the backdoor. "Servo, I want those keys now!"

Joel went back to his bench and sat down. He couldn't help but laugh at Mike's predicament because he'd been there many times himself.

Looking at the family portrait he kept on his bench, he sighed and said with contentment,

"You were right, Dorothy, there is no place like home."

The End


End file.
